http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specificationAccountability Alerts Blogen-usfreedomfoundation.publishpath.comTom Stewardnohttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.comMon, 16 Oct 2017 22:13:49 GMTAccountability Alerts BlogAccountability Alerts BlogFri, 14 Feb 2014 19:59:23 GMTGaylord Overlooks “Substantial Risks” to City in Approving Taxpayer-Backed Telecom Bondshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/gaylord-overlooks-substantial-risks-to-city-in-approving-taxpayer-backed-telecom-bondsFri, 28 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardFFM Follow Up: City Council votes to publicly release previously withheld analysis of financial risks-- Despite a memo from the city’s bond counsel warning of “substantial risks”, the Gaylord City Council has voted to guarantee to pay up to 16.5 percent of the debt service on $77 million of revenue bonds should the proposed RS Fiber telecom network fail to pay for itself. The bond risk analysis prepared for the city at a cost of $1,500 to taxpayers was initially withheld from the public under a ...]]>FFM Follow Up: City Council votes to publicly release previously withheld analysis of financial risks-- Despite a memo from the city’s bond counsel warning of “substantial risks”, the Gaylord City Council has voted to guarantee to pay up to 16.5 percent of the debt service on $77 million of revenue bonds should the proposed RS Fiber telecom network fail to pay for itself. The bond risk analysis prepared for the city at a cost of $1,500 to taxpayers was initially withheld from the public under a ...FFM Follow Up: City Council votes to publicly release previously withheld analysis of financial risks--

Despite a memo from the city’s bond counsel warning of “substantial risks”, the Gaylord City Council has voted to guarantee to pay up to 16.5 percent of the debt service on $77 million of revenue bonds should the proposed RS Fiber telecom network fail to pay for itself.

The bond risk analysis prepared for the city at a cost of $1,500 to taxpayers was initially withheld from the public under a presumption of attorney-client privilege. Upon a request from the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, the Gaylord City Council voted to waive legal claims and release the memo to the public.

The recent suspension of bond payments by officials in Monticello, Minnesota on their FiberNet telecom network has increased scrutiny of similar taxpayer-backed projects. Proponents of RS Fiber expect the network to start paying for itself after three or four years. To guard against default, however, the eleven cities and two counties participating in RS Fiber will contribute on a proportionate basis to a $4.5 million Debt Service Reserve Fund.

The two-page document highlights the potential downside of participating in an enterprise that will compete directly with several private providers already in the marketplace. The memo produced by bond expert Stephen Rosholt at the city council’s request warns the agreement “nearly doubles the City’s outstanding debt commitments”.

The blunt memo raises fundamental questions about the deal and its potential impact on the city’s financial stability. The memo strongly suggested Gaylord officials consider these key details:
¨ A commitment to paying as much as 16.5 percent of the total debt service on up to $77 million in bonds, more than any other city in the consortium.
¨ The city’s “fiscal capacity” to make large debt payments given its “relatively large amount of outstanding debt”.
¨ The potential impact on Gaylord’s bond rating or access to financial markets should the city fail to appropriate the revenue to make debt payments. “It may also be the case that the fact of entering into the sort of commitment reflected by the Shortfall Agreement would have a negative impact.”
¨ The possibility of additional legal exposure “in connection with litigation that could arise out of the offering of the bonds by the Joint Powers Board”.

The bond counsel’s analysis raises another problematic point—the issue of whether the city has a legal obligation to hold a referendum in order for citizens to authorize participation in RS Fiber. The Rosholt memo notes that state law “requires passage of a referendum in order for a municipality to construct a new telephone exchange” as planned by RS Fiber proponents. State law requires a 65 percent supermajority in order for a telecom referendum to pass. None of the participating cities or counties in RS Fiber has held a referendum.

“We understand the Joint Powers Board believes that the statute does not apply where the (telephone) switching is handled elsewhere. We do not agree with that conclusion,” the analysis pointedly states. “The City should consider requesting that a legal opinion be directed to it addressing that issue.”

The most recent estimates indicate the cost for RS Fiber bonds may be $77 million, a ten percent increase from previous estimates. Groundbreaking was scheduled to occur in August, 2012 but has been postponed until at least next spring.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/gaylord-overlooks-substantial-risks-to-city-in-approving-taxpayer-backed-telecom-bondsNorthstar Rail Fare Cut Flops in First Monthhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/northstar-rail-fare-cut-flops-in-first-monthFri, 21 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward--A month into Metro Transit’s marketing experiment that cut fares with the hope they would add passengers to the flailing Northstar Commuter Rail line is not working. Initial monthly passenger counts indicate that the experiment may be heading full speed in the wrong direction. Metro Transit figures obtained by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) for the first month of the experimental fares indicate that monthly Northstar ridership plunged by more than eight percent , some...]]>--A month into Metro Transit’s marketing experiment that cut fares with the hope they would add passengers to the flailing Northstar Commuter Rail line is not working. Initial monthly passenger counts indicate that the experiment may be heading full speed in the wrong direction. Metro Transit figures obtained by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) for the first month of the experimental fares indicate that monthly Northstar ridership plunged by more than eight percent , some...--A month into Metro Transit’s marketing experiment that cut fares with the hope they would add passengers to the flailing Northstar Commuter Rail line is not working. Initial monthly passenger counts indicate that the experiment may be heading full speed in the wrong direction.

Metro Transit figures obtained by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) for the first month of the experimental fares indicate that monthly Northstar ridership plunged by more than eight percent , some 12,300 passengers. Northstar train ridership in August 2012 totaled 66,543 passengers compared to 78,898 passengers in August 2011. In both 2010 and 2011, ridership on the commuter line increased from month to month July to August. The August 2012 decline was registered across the board at all Northstar stations with the greatest falloff at the station at the end of the 40 mile line, Big Lake.

Following lackluster results in the first two years of service for the heavily subsidized commuter rail, lower fares were instituted by the Metropolitan Council on August 1st for the purpose of jump-starting ridership. While taxpayers already cover more than 80 percent of the cost of each Northstar rider, transit officials under pressure to produce better results cut fares by $1 per ticket at all stations except Fridley, where the price cut was $.50. The move follows a 2010 decision not to increase temporary introductory Northstar fares as originally planned, again due to disappointing ridership numbers.

Nevertheless, transit officials blamed the ridership deficit on ticket costs and recommended slashing prices further. “Current surveys of non-Northstar Commuter Rail riders living within the Northstar Corridor shows that a prime factor in the decision to not ride the train is the current fare structure and fare set. The recommended temporary fare change reflects current travel market conditions for commuter’s value of long distance service while balancing impacts on fare revenue,” according to Metro Transit.

The nine month fare reduction could result in a maximum estimated revenue loss from ticket sales of $323,000 by the time the temporary prices expire at the end of April, 2013. It would take an increase in ridership of nearly 20 percent to offset the loss in revenue, according to Metro Transit. The majority of any loss in revenue will be repaid by savings in professional and technical services, although further losses will be deducted from the rail line’s reserves.

The once ballyhooed Northstar line debuted with 183,000 fewer passengers than projected in 2010, followed by a 2.5 percent falloff in ridership in 2011. Meanwhile, reliance on public transit in the Twin Cities overall continues to grow, largely on the strength of additional bus ridership.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/northstar-rail-fare-cut-flops-in-first-monthGaylord Officials Keep Report Secret on Risk to Taxpayers with $70 Million Telecom Networkhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/gaylord-officials-keep-report-secret-on-risk-to-taxpayers-with-70-million-telecom-networkWed, 19 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward --Officials in the city of Gaylord have informed the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) they will not make public a key analysis of the potential financial risks posed by a plan to invest $70 million in bonding for the RS Fiber telecom network. Proponents of the municipal broadband project expect RS Fiber to start paying for itself after three or four years. If not, a $4.5 million reserve fund replenished by local taxpayers in eleven cities and two counties partici...]]> --Officials in the city of Gaylord have informed the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) they will not make public a key analysis of the potential financial risks posed by a plan to invest $70 million in bonding for the RS Fiber telecom network. Proponents of the municipal broadband project expect RS Fiber to start paying for itself after three or four years. If not, a $4.5 million reserve fund replenished by local taxpayers in eleven cities and two counties partici... --Officials in the city of Gaylord have informed the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) they will not make public a key analysis of the potential financial risks posed by a plan to invest $70 million in bonding for the RS Fiber telecom network. Proponents of the municipal broadband project expect RS Fiber to start paying for itself after three or four years. If not, a $4.5 million reserve fund replenished by local taxpayers in eleven cities and two counties participating in a joint powers agreement would be required to pay the system’s financial obligations.

An analysis of the potential liability in the event RS Fiber fails to attract enough customers was requested by the Gaylord City Council on September 5th. City Administrator Kevin McCann noted in a memo that Stephen Rosholt, a Minneapolis bond expert, would review the bonding and debt service shortfall funding documents. The analysis cost local taxpayers about $1,500.

“His (Rosholt’s) initial thoughts are that it is a huge risk for the city since he is familiar with Monticello and other cases where the city got into a new venture that ended up costing cities a lot of money in the long run,” McCann stated in the memo.

It’s becoming clear the recent decision by Monticello, Minnesota to suspend bond payments for its FiberNet telecom system has clouded the municipal bond market for local government-owned telecom networks. To guard against that possibility, cities and counties participating in RS Fiber are planning to contribute on a proportionate basis to a $4.5 million Debt Service Reserve Fund to make bond payments if necessary.

Rosholt deferred comment on his findings, referring FFM to Gaylord officials. The report was sent to each member of the Gaylord City Council, but staff was instructed not to release the document. “We did consult again with the city attorney to see if we could send you a copy of the letter and his reply was the document is an attorney/client privileged document,” city staff said in an email.

Don Lannoye, attorney for the City of Gaylord, confirmed that the city is withholding the document on the basis of attorney-client privilege. Lannoye cited a League of Minnesota Cities analysis of the Minnesota Data Practices Act that states “some communications between an attorney and client are subject to attorney-client privilege”. The document also states “it is not always readily apparent what communication qualifies and what does not…The attorney-client privilege must be balanced against the public’s right to access government data.”

“The Gaylord City counsel may choose to make the document public at some point by formally waiving the privilege or choosing to discuss the opinion in depth at a public meeting. However, that is a choice for the counsel to make,” Lannoye said in an email to FFM.

Lannoye is an attorney with Schauer Law Office, which is operated by the part-time Sibley County Attorney, David Schauer. In his capacity with Schauer Law Office, Lannoye serves as City Attorney for three cities participating in RS Fiber (Winthrop, Gaylord and Layfayette). He’s also an Assistant County Attorney for Sibley County, another key participant in RS Fiber.

“This office has reviewed the documents that are being suggested by the joint powers entity and has issued an opinion to the County Board and the three City Councils that address the concerns that we as a law office have in regards to how the proposed documents could negatively effect (sic) all the municipal entities we represent. Additionally, each individual municipality has hired independent bond council (sic) to also give a second opinion as to the merits of signing the documents provided,” Lannoye said in his email.

“The fact that this office has issued a blanket opinion on the documents and each municipality has retained independent bond council (sic), any potential conflict of interest should be negated. There is no conflict in advising the City to, for the moment, deny your request to review the bond counsel's opinion as that is an issue specific to the City of Gaylord.”

While RS Fiber participants have the option of not paying into a debt service replenishment fund, there would be sharp consequences. The penalties could include higher customer fees, service cuts to city hall and a reduced credit rating for the city, according to city council minutes from September 5th. The Rosholt report is expected to come up in discussion at the Gaylord City Council meeting on Wednesday, September 19th. It’s not clear, however, whether the Gaylord taxpayers that paid for the report will be allowed to see it. ###

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/gaylord-officials-keep-report-secret-on-risk-to-taxpayers-with-70-million-telecom-networkIs 36 Page EPA Haze Rule for Northern Minnesota Regulatory Overkill?http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/is-36-page-epa-haze-rule-for-northern-minnesota-regulatory-overkillMon, 17 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward30,000 word rule adds to 169,000 pages of federal regulations on the books --The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed new regulations on six state taconite facilities have not only provoked concern among northern Minnesotans who depend on the mining industry for their jobs and way of life. The controversy has also brought home to Iron Range residents the real life consequences of federal government regulations in the form of a 36 page proposed rule buried deep in ...]]>30,000 word rule adds to 169,000 pages of federal regulations on the books --The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed new regulations on six state taconite facilities have not only provoked concern among northern Minnesotans who depend on the mining industry for their jobs and way of life. The controversy has also brought home to Iron Range residents the real life consequences of federal government regulations in the form of a 36 page proposed rule buried deep in ...30,000 word rule adds to 169,000 pages of federal regulations on the books

--The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed new regulations on six state taconite facilities have not only provoked concern among northern Minnesotans who depend on the mining industry for their jobs and way of life. The controversy has also brought home to Iron Range residents the real life consequences of federal government regulations in the form of a 36 page proposed rule buried deep in the Federal Register (Vol. 77, No. 158, pages 49,308-343).

Technically, it’s just another FIP (Federal Implementation Plan), little more than a footnote in thousands of pages of Washington rule-making, but it’s struck a nerve among some of the rank-and-file in this long-time mining region that continues to suffer during this prolonged economic recession. The proposed new regulations would potentially affect the Minnesota taconite industry that employs nearly 4,000 workers and thousands more in mining-related jobs.

In the last decade, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports that federal agencies added more than 38,000 new federal rules to the government’s books. Since 2001, the number of pages of regulations published in the Federal Register has increased 20 percent from 141,000 to 169,000 pages. The estimated cost of compliance is a controversial political issue, ranging from $53 billion for the most costly new rules (OMB) to more than $1 trillion overall (U.S. Chamber of Commerce).

By requiring stricter emissions controls, the proposed haze rule seeks to further reduce regional haze on the horizon in Voyageur National Park, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Isle Royale.

Whatever the pros and cons of the federal action, the Clean Air Act rule published on August 15, 2012 provides a classic example of the tangled maze of bureaucratic rules, record-keeping requirements and reviews routinely imposed on business and industry, largely out of sight and mind of most taxpayers.

The Regional Haze Federal Implementation Plan consists of more than 30,800 words and three dozen pages in the Federal Register. Congress has passed laws designed to reign in regulatory overreach which must be taken into consideration as part of the rule-making process. In drafting the haze regulations, EPA officials evaluated several such laws intended to streamline the process for industry and soften the impact on the local economy.

Case in point? The Paperwork Reduction Act, which as EPA states in the rule aims to minimize the “total time, effort or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain or disclose or provide information to or for a federal agency.” This includes time required to “review instructions, develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information” among other requirements on a much longer list. There’s just one problem. The anti-paperwork prohibition only applies to federal regulations that affect ten or more persons or facilities. Since the haze rule would affect “just” six facilities in Minnesota (plus one in Michigan), they’re out of luck.

It was the same outcome for a “Regulatory Planning and Review” analysis mandated by a 1993 executive order. The proposed FIP does not meet the federal standard for relief from a “significant regulatory action”, again because the regulation applies to seven sources.

Then there’s the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), a tool to cushion small businesses and other small organizations from adverse consequences resulting from regulation. Déjà vu, all over again.

“After considering the economic impacts of this proposed action on small entities, I certify that this proposed action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities,” wrote Susan Hedman, EPA Regional Administrator in signing the order. “The net result of the FIP action is that EPA is proposing emission controls on the indurating furnaces at seven taconite facilities and none of these sources are owned by small entities, and therefore are not small entities.”

The State of Minnesota fared no better when it came to the EPA’s application of a 1999 executive order to prioritize federalism in regulatory matters with states. After rejecting and replacing a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) state haze control plan, the EPA concluded the federalism question was moot.

“This rule will not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government…because it merely addresses the State not fully meeting its obligation to prohibit emissions from interfering with other states measures to protect visibility established in the CAA (Clean Air Act),” according to the EPA filing.

The public comment period for the proposed EPA rule ends on September 28, 2012. But that may be just the beginning for one of the taconite facilities facing the haze regulations. Mesabi Nugget recently informed local media that the company received a Section 114 ultimatum from the EPA for information on more than two dozen issues related to the Clean Air Act.

“It’s terribly time consuming and we don’t even know the purpose,” Jeff Hansen, the plant’s general manager told the Mesabi Daily News. “The federal and state government agencies are too big and too powerful.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/is-36-page-epa-haze-rule-for-northern-minnesota-regulatory-overkillSix-figure Salaries Abound at State Teachers’ Unionhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/six-figure-salaries-abound-at-state-teachers-unionThu, 06 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMTJonathan BlakeST. PAUL, MN--It may be a challenging time to be a teacher, but it’s apparently a great time to work for the Minnesota teachers’ union. According to a report filed with the U.S. ]]>ST. PAUL, MN--It may be a challenging time to be a teacher, but it’s apparently a great time to work for the Minnesota teachers’ union. According to a report filed with the U.S. ST. PAUL, MN--It may be a challenging time to be a teacher, but it’s apparently a great time to work for the Minnesota teachers’ union. According to a report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, 49 Education Minnesota staffers and three elected officers were paid more than $100,000 in fiscal year 2011.

In fact, 30 of those staff members (and all three officers) have higher salaries than the state Education Commissioner. The compensation details were included in the union’s Labor Organization Annual Report (“Form LM-2”), a legally required filing for any union with more than $250,000 in annual receipts.

Among those collecting $100,000+ are the union's chief lobbyist, public affairs and communications personnel, and more than 20 field staff. At the top of the pay scale is Education Minnesota president Tom Dooher, collecting a salary of $168,530 (his total pay, including other disbursements, is $190,942).

Large pay differentials between union officials and those they represent are nothing new.The national teachers’ unions have come under fire recently for using compulsory union dues to give union leaders extravagant compensation packages.

Meanwhile, few if any of the union’s rank-and-file members will ever see comparable pay. According to the National Education Association, of which Education Minnesota is an affiliate, Minnesota’s public school teachers are paid an average salary of $53,680. And of course, a chunk of each teacher’s salary goes straight to Education Minnesota, which helps the union pay for… well, we already covered that.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/six-figure-salaries-abound-at-state-teachers-union$70 Million Countywide Government Telecom Network on Holdhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/70-million-countywide-government-telecom-network-on-holdWed, 05 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardConstruction of the proposed taxpayer-backed telecom network known as RS Fiber has been quietly pushed back until at least next spring. Yet you’d never know this if you visited their website. According to the RS Fiber website, groundbreaking was to occur last month. ]]>Construction of the proposed taxpayer-backed telecom network known as RS Fiber has been quietly pushed back until at least next spring. Yet you’d never know this if you visited their website. According to the RS Fiber website, groundbreaking was to occur last month. Construction of the proposed taxpayer-backed telecom network known as RS Fiber has been quietly pushed back until at least next spring. Yet you’d never know this if you visited their website.

According to the RS Fiber website, groundbreaking was to occur last month. The reason for the unexpected and unusual delay cited by supporters of the municipal broadband proposal involves municipal bond financing for the proposed government-owned telecom network in Renville and Sibley counties in southern Minnesota.

“I know that the intention is not to break ground this year. I hate to be vague on that, but we haven’t heard anything relative to a date for ground breaking but I know it isn’t going to take place in 2012,” said Gary Evans, CEO of Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC), project manager.

The two counties and ten cities participating in the fiber to the home, farm and businesses network expected to begin installing the system this fall. Financial advisors working on selling nearly $70 million in municipal revenue bonds for the proposed telecom network, however, now say it will take longer than originally expected to finalize the bond offering. As a result, construction on the first phase of the system will not get underway as planned this year.

“Of course that all depends on a successful revenue bond sale,” Winthrop City Administrator and EDA Director Mark Erickson said in a recent news release. “We feel the project is (on) a good path but we have a lot of work to do yet regarding financing.”

Though construction apparently will be delayed by about half a year, Erickson indicated that Oppenheimer, the company working on the revenue bonds for RS Fiber, still anticipates an offering sometime this fall. First, local officials must provide detailed information for prospective investors.

“Oppenheimer gave us a due diligence list seven pages long,” Erickson said. “We have different people working on different parts of the list. We’ll get it done.”

It’s not clear if the recent decision by the city of Monticello to suspend bond payments for its $26 million FiberNet telecom system has had an impact on the municipal bond market for local government-owned telecom networks. To guard against that possibility, cities and counties participating in RS Fiber must contribute on a proportionate basis to a $4.5 million Debt Service Reserve Fund.

Proponents expect RS Fiber to start paying for itself after three or four years. If not, the reserve fund will be used to meet the system’s financial obligations. For example, taxpayers in the city of Stewart could be on the hook for anywhere from $6,700 to $213,000 under one scenario presented by a financial consultant who met with the city in June.

One of the key reasons FiberNet Monticello projects a $2 million loss this year is the unexpectedly fierce competition with private providers for customers. A similar battle has already begun for RS Fiber, judging from an aggressive message to consumers on the RS Fiber’s government website.

“Competitive providers will try to entice you with that ‘deal that’s too good to pass up’. Often prices go up a staggering amount after the promotional period. With RS Fiber, you will get upfront affordable pricing for the long- term. RS Fiber will be able to offer things like local programming that other providers cannot,” the website warns.

If RS Fiber moves forward, it will likely face competition against numerous private telecom providers already up and running in the area who are eager to keep existing customers.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/70-million-countywide-government-telecom-network-on-holdWhere is the Minneapolis Teachers' Contract?http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/where-is-the-minneapolis-teachers-contractWed, 29 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMTJonathan BlakeMINNEAPOLIS, MN--When superintendent Bernadeia Johnson took over the struggling Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) two years ago, she pledged to renew the district’s commitment to transparency andaccountability. Minneapolis Public Schools had a reputation for secrecy and evasiveness, a reputation they earned. Unfortunately, despite the district’s renewed commitment to open government, some things never change. ]]>MINNEAPOLIS, MN--When superintendent Bernadeia Johnson took over the struggling Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) two years ago, she pledged to renew the district’s commitment to transparency andaccountability. Minneapolis Public Schools had a reputation for secrecy and evasiveness, a reputation they earned. Unfortunately, despite the district’s renewed commitment to open government, some things never change. MINNEAPOLIS, MN--When superintendent Bernadeia Johnson took over the struggling Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) two years ago, she pledged to renew the district’s commitment to transparency andaccountability. Minneapolis Public Schools had a reputation for secrecy and evasiveness, a reputation they earned. Unfortunately, despite the district’s renewed commitment to open government, some things never change.

Take, for example, the current Minneapolis district’s teacher contract. The district was under a great deal of scrutiny as parents, taxpayers, and even liberal education reform advocates urged the district to follow through on their commitment to accountability, particularly in regards to teachers’ performance. During negotiations, the superintendent assured the public that MPS was working "alongside our teachers’ union on many substantial reforms that will convert MPS into a model urban school district". Then, after seemingly endless, secret negotiations between the district and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT), the long-anticipated contract was approved in mid-April.

So what’s in the contract?

Well, more than four months after it was ratified, no one can say for sure. No one, that is, except the teachers' union and school district.

Earlier this summer, the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota submitted a Data Practices Act request to the district to obtain a copy of the complete teachers' contract. The district responded by claiming the contract, which was approved four and a half months ago, was still being finalized. Perhaps most disturbingly, the district says, "the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers takes the lead in developing the strikethrough and final contract".

FFM requested the contract from the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, but was told, "the finalized document takes a very long time to publish" and is not available. The union instead referred FFM to an executive summary and to a previous teachers' contract, which they said “really do give the entire thing while you wait”. The union's website also says the "2011-13 Complete Collective Bargaining Agreement is still being finalized" and advises people to "please direct any contract questions to MFT59 directly".

So not only is the public in the dark about the full contents of a contract they’re already paying for, but the contract is in the hands of a government union that is not accountable to voters or taxpayers. Labor relations experts told FFM that the contract delay and the union’s role in finalizing the contract are highly unusual.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/where-is-the-minneapolis-teachers-contractFFM Follow Up: The High Price of Fighting City's Controversial Rental Limitshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/ffm-follow-up-the-high-price-of-fighting-citys-controversial-rental-limitsTue, 28 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardHomeowners pursue property rights case despite potential foreclosure and thousands of dollars in lost rental income -- Ethan Dean never gave up hope during five tours of duty as a US advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan. He kept making his mortgage payments while living halfway around the world, partly due to rent checks from a tenant staying in his house in Winona, Minnesota. Even with his mortgage under water, he continued to hold out hope—until he got back home. ]]>Homeowners pursue property rights case despite potential foreclosure and thousands of dollars in lost rental income -- Ethan Dean never gave up hope during five tours of duty as a US advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan. He kept making his mortgage payments while living halfway around the world, partly due to rent checks from a tenant staying in his house in Winona, Minnesota. Even with his mortgage under water, he continued to hold out hope—until he got back home. Homeowners pursue property rights case despite potential foreclosure and thousands of dollars in lost rental income --

Ethan Dean never gave up hope during five tours of duty as a US advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan. He kept making his mortgage payments while living halfway around the world, partly due to rent checks from a tenant staying in his house in Winona, Minnesota. Even with his mortgage under water, he continued to hold out hope—until he got back home.

Soon after Dean’s return to the states this spring, however, the rent checks stopped coming in. Not because his tenant moved out or couldn’t pay, but because Winona authorities said it’s against the law for him to have renters in his three bedroom house nearWinona State University. The city refused to renew a temporary rental license that gave Dean an exemption to Winona’s controversial ordinance that capped at 30 percent the number of home rentals per block.

“I’ve lost the house. I’m not in the same state, I can’t live in it and I can’t rent it,” Dean said from his new job in Kansas City. “I’ve tried everything humanly possible to keep that house but the city council is obviously not too concerned about their citizens.”

While Dean may be losing the battle to retain ownership of his house, he’s more determined than ever to continue the legal campaign he’s waging against the southeastern Minnesota city’s so-called “30 percent rule”. The Institute for Justice, a national civil liberties group, has sued in state court to strike down the ordinance preventing Dean and the owners of two other houses from renting their property. The crux of the case: Renting one’s home to someone else is a fundamental property right.

“The city is playing musical chairs with property rights. Some homeowners can get rental licenses and not even use them, and others cannot get them even when they desperately need them,” said Anthony Sanders, an attorney leading the legal challenge.“The city arbitrarily picks winners and losers. It’s got to stop.”

For Ethan Dean, the rental prohibition has not only prevented him from critical cash to help make his house payments but also serves as a barrier to selling it.

“There is no doubt if I could rent the house, I could have sold It years ago. People have wanted to buy it so they could rent it out,” Dean told FFM. “Half a dozen people have expressed interest with my realtor but they can’t rent it.”

In the process of investigating the case for trial, attorneys have also uncovered evidence of incompetence in administering the rental restriction. Attorneys discovered that city authorities had lost track of an expired rental license that should have been assigned three years earlier to Holly Richard, another plaintiff. While Richard now possesses the newly minted city permit, the costly mistake made her all the more resolved to see the case through.

“I’m still part of the lawsuit because I don’t agree with the city regulations on this,” Richard said. “They can’t keep track of the permits, so I can’t see who it benefits. It doesn’t benefit the average renter or homeowner.”

A city official acknowledged the error but said no changes have been implemented to current procedures. “After we checked all the properties on the block, we found that another property did not renew their rental license in 2008 and the property wasn’t taken off the map,” said Carlos Espinoza, assistant city planner. “We just issued her a rental license as soon as we discovered that. The block in now saturated according to the 30 percent rule.”

The other plaintiffs in the case, Ted and Lauren Dzierzbicki, have been forced to let their house stand empty since their daughter graduated from Winona State University. Despite investing thousands of dollars in maintenance and improvements, they have also been unable to find a buyer without a rental license in hand.

The lack of a permit, however, hasn’t stopped Ethan Dean from tweaking city authorities one more time. The same single mother with two kids who was renting his house while he was serving abroad is living there to this day—rent free.

“She’s been staying there for free for several months only because I want someone in the house. I didn’t want to kick her out,” Dean said. “The city can’t say nobody can stay for free. They can say people can’t rent it. She’s a single mom with 2 kids, what am I going to do?”

The case will go to trial in Minnesota District Court in Winona in January, 2013.

Tips or comments? Contact Tom Steward at 612-354-2192.]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/ffm-follow-up-the-high-price-of-fighting-citys-controversial-rental-limitsObscure Transit Agency Lays Groundwork for Massive Sales Tax Increasehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/obscure-transit-agency-lays-groundwork-for-massive-sales-tax-increaseMon, 06 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward Higher sales taxes could be coming down the tracks in five metro counties with several proposed new rail lines already under consideration expected to deplete existing taxpayer subsidies by the time they get up and running. In short, Twin Cities transit officials appear to be getting out ahead of themselves and taxpayers, planning to build more rail lines than can likely be sustained with the amount of tax revenue generated from existing transit sales and motor vehicle excise taxes. It all come...]]> Higher sales taxes could be coming down the tracks in five metro counties with several proposed new rail lines already under consideration expected to deplete existing taxpayer subsidies by the time they get up and running. In short, Twin Cities transit officials appear to be getting out ahead of themselves and taxpayers, planning to build more rail lines than can likely be sustained with the amount of tax revenue generated from existing transit sales and motor vehicle excise taxes. It all come...Higher sales taxes could be coming down the tracks in five metro counties with several proposed new rail lines already under consideration expected to deplete existing taxpayer subsidies by the time they get up and running.

In short, Twin Cities transit officials appear to be getting out ahead of themselves and taxpayers, planning to build more rail lines than can likely be sustained with the amount of tax revenue generated from existing transit sales and motor vehicle excise taxes.

It all comes down to a little known transit agency formed under a 2008 agreement between Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington counties for the purpose of funding major transit improvements such as passenger and light rail lines and rapid bus transitways. Known as the County Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), the agency receives about $97 million yearly from a quarter-cent sales tax and $20 motor vehicle excise tax imposed on residents and consumers in the five metro counties.

Some board officials, however, reportedly believe the Twin Cities transit sales tax should be more in line with other metropolitan areas with higher rates. So CTIB has begun quietly laying the groundwork for a sales tax hike, starting with the group’s 2012 financial annual review.

“Within the decade, and if projects develop as indicated, the Board’s Sales Tax will largely be consumed by debt service and its 50% share of net operating subsidy...each year that passes bring (sic) the Board closer to having to seek to increase its revenue base or choose which projects to fund in the future,” according to the Annual Financial Review and Capacity Estimate report from June 2012.

Talk of a tax increase caught some officials off guard at a June 20 CTIB workshop, during which Anoka County Commissioner Matt Look posted a comment on his Facebook page, referencing talk of jacking up the current one-quarter cent transit sales tax to a full cent.

“There are those that are advocating for a 1 cent sales tax (currently .25 cent sales),” Look wrote. “Someone help me.... Is that a 300 or 400% increase?”

The minutes of an official CTIB meeting several days later, at which the annual financial review was unanimously approved, include no mention of a tax hike or increasing revenues. No audio or video recordings are made of CTIB meetings, according to staff.

The transit board is already on the hook to fund 50 percent of the annual operating subsidies for five transitways: Hiawatha Light Rail, Northstar Commuter Rail, Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transit, I-35W South Bus Rapid Transit and Central Corridor Light Rail. Currently CTIB spends about $22.6 million on operating costs. By 2021, however, that figure is expected to quadruple to $89 million, depleting nearly all of the board’s sales tax revenues when combined with debt service payments.

CTIB and the Metropolitan Council have commissioned a study that will describe “the funding constraints of the Board and its funding partners and options available to address them.” The first phase of this study is expected to be completed later this summer.

The bottom line: While the Dayton administration and rail advocates plan a huge expansion of our rail system, it’s increasingly clear that massive tax hikes will be part and parcel of their plan.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/obscure-transit-agency-lays-groundwork-for-massive-sales-tax-increase$35 Million Prior Lake Telecom Proposal Pits City Against Private Businesshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/35-million-prior-lake-telecom-proposal-pits-city-against-private-businessWed, 01 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardPRIOR LAKE, MN—A recently minted $35 million taxpayer-backed telecom proposal in Prior Lake takes a sharply confrontational posture toward the very sector the project ostensibly aims to attract—private business. An $80,000 feasibility study aggressively singles out three telecom providers with thousands of Prior Lake customers that the proposed city network would compete for, even as it lays claim to “creating an environment in which the private sector can thrive. This is about enabling the priv...]]>PRIOR LAKE, MN—A recently minted $35 million taxpayer-backed telecom proposal in Prior Lake takes a sharply confrontational posture toward the very sector the project ostensibly aims to attract—private business. An $80,000 feasibility study aggressively singles out three telecom providers with thousands of Prior Lake customers that the proposed city network would compete for, even as it lays claim to “creating an environment in which the private sector can thrive. This is about enabling the priv...PRIOR LAKE, MN—A recently minted $35 million taxpayer-backed telecom proposal in Prior Lake takes a sharply confrontational posture toward the very sector the project ostensibly aims to attract—private business. An $80,000 feasibility study aggressively singles out three telecom providers with thousands of Prior Lake customers that the proposed city network would compete for, even as it lays claim to “creating an environment in which the private sector can thrive. This is about enabling the private sector.”

The proposed municipal fiber-optic network is the centerpiece of an economic development initiative focused on converting the southwest suburb into a technology village with a data center and incubator to draw entrepreneurs and high-tech companies.

As the latest proposed government-owned network to surface in Minnesota, the Prior Lake proposal puts a new focus on the role of government in competing with companies it also regulates. The document states:
o “It is unlikely that reliance on any of these providers will improve or enhance economic development. If you were a business looking to come or to build here, would you be attracted by them?”
o “We discuss why business is not, cannot, be attracted to networks that are largely copper-based or that separate our lives into office capabilities and home capabilities.”
o “We explain why the existing service providers are not motivated to build the network we envision or need if we are to attract high technology companies.”

Under the model recommended in the 93-page feasibility study, the city would market traditional triple play phone, video and high-speed internet services, as well as other digital services. The city system would in many respects duplicate telecom products already available to residents, going head-to-head with private carriers Integra, CenturyLink and Mediacom that currently offer speeds of 20 to 30 megabits per second.

“The scale of it is bigger than anything I’m aware of that Prior Lake has jumped into as a municipal project,” said Dan Rogness, Community and Economic Development Director. “It is a big step and I think that’s why there will be some time taken to vet this out before a decision is made.”

The report also criticizes a state law that gives local voters final say by requiring cities to hold a referendum before moving forward with a local telephone exchange as part of a municipal network. The city study characterizes the law as a “burdensome” and “outdated” statute used by telecom companies “to deny legitimate outcomes.” Especially noteworthy to residents and taxpayers is the city's troubling contention that “alternatives seem to exist” that would allow Prior Lake to circumvent a vote.

The risks to local taxpayers of government-owned networks have been underscored by serious financial troubles at FiberNet Monticello. A city-operated telecom network once hailed as a national model, FiberNet Monticello has lost millions of dollars and faces potential default—a case study that’s close to home in Prior Lake.

“Monticello has come up in some meetings. There’s the realization of course they paid for something with a revenue bond and now are defaulting on that,” Rogness said. “I think it has cast a shadow on the thinking of some cities about moving forward.”

Lookout Point Communications, a St. Paul consultant, drafted the study. Lookout Point Communications also served as a consultant to the nearby TonkaConnect proposed fiber network, leaving the project before the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission rejected the estimated $80 million system in 2011.

The Prior Lake city broadband fiber network subcommittee involved in overseeing the report includes a nationally known activist for taxpayer-funded telecom, Chris Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self Reliance. Mitchell is an enthusiastic booster of TonkaConnect and FiberNet Monticello, among other government-backed networks.

“They (cities) all recognize that big companies have little incentive to improve a system. Full fiber networks are expensive to build, and the return on investment takes years,” Mitchell wrote in a 2010 opinion piece.

No telecom representative participated on the fiber subcommittee in the Prior Lake study. “This has come up in discussions that one of the next steps in the process to try and evaluate the recommendations is to have this reviewed and discussed with the providers,” Rogness said.

CenturyLink, one of the three private providers in Prior Lake, told FFM the internet speeds the carrier offers in the community are not reflected in the feasibility study. Lookout Point Communications did not respond to an FFM inquiry at the time of this posting.

Following two recent meetings of the Prior Lake Economic Development Authority to discuss the fiber network, the proposal will move on to a city council workshop scheduled for September 9th. City officials hope for a decision one way or another this fall.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/35-million-prior-lake-telecom-proposal-pits-city-against-private-businessTelecom Referendum "Loss" Turns Into a Win with Lower Prices and Faster Broadbandhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/telecom-referendum-loss-turns-into-a-win-with-lower-prices-and-faster-broadbandFri, 20 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward City manager says “marketplace has responded” and voices concerns about Ramsey County fiber proposal-- In 2009,North Saint Paulcity administrator Wally Wysopal was the loudest cheerleader for a proposed $18.5 million taxpayer-backed telecom network dubbed PolarNet. “It provides economic development opportunities like we don’t have today and that’s what we want to do is distinguish North Saint Paul from any other community in the metro area,” Wysopal said at the time. ...]]> City manager says “marketplace has responded” and voices concerns about Ramsey County fiber proposal-- In 2009,North Saint Paulcity administrator Wally Wysopal was the loudest cheerleader for a proposed $18.5 million taxpayer-backed telecom network dubbed PolarNet. “It provides economic development opportunities like we don’t have today and that’s what we want to do is distinguish North Saint Paul from any other community in the metro area,” Wysopal said at the time. ... City manager says “marketplace has responded” and voices concerns about Ramsey County fiber proposal--

“It provides economic development opportunities like we don’t have today and that’s what we want to do is distinguish North Saint Paul from any other community in the metro area,” Wysopal said at the time.

Three years later, Wysopal remains a vocal advocate—not for PolarNet, but for the private telecom providers who opposed the city’s proposal. Since the defeat of the referendum, private cable providers have made major investments into upgrading their existingfiber opticinfrastructure and services in the Twin Cities suburb.

“I don’t know if we dodged a bullet, but I think we’re in a more stable position because we’re not trying to provide a service that the private marketplace has responded to and provided at higher speeds and lower prices,” Wysopal recently told FFM.

Wysopal still contends the city of 12,000 had a sound business plan to operate PolarNet. He also wonders whether the option of PolarNet coming on line might have been a factor in motivating private providers already operating in North Saint Paul to upgrade their systems. Regardless, city hall’s top official has been pleasantly surprised by the increase in speeds and improved coverage following his pet project’s lopsided loss in the February, 2009 special election.

“If it was related or not, it so happens after that project Qwest was in here installing fiber to the node and Comcast came in with a lot more products and offerings and some businesses picked up other service,” Wysopal said. “I think the whole community has benefited with more services and lower costs.”

Although private providers generally do not disclose the cost or technical specifications of their investments for competitive reasons, Wysopal has closely tracked their efforts. It’s given him a newfound appreciation of the enormous expense of competing in a high tech enterprise and the commensurate risk to taxpayers when government gets involved.

“The competition that’s out there and how much effort the private sector has to make in capital and technical upgrades all the time, I look at that and I’m very impressed with their work,” he said. “It’s impressive that kind of investment in infrastructure goes on.”

At the same time, the North Saint Paul official has taken note of mounting problems at municipal networks like FiberNet Monticello, a system that has suffered heavy financial losses and suspended bond payments this summer. Yet he wonders if other local governments are paying close attention. “It’s a little curious to me that some places haven’t learned,” he said.

Wysopal also has questions about the proposed taxpayer-backed fiber network under consideration in Ramsey County. The Ramsey County Institutional Fiber Network CIP Project appears to call for one part of the fiber network to be run by and for Ramsey County and the city of St. Paul. A second part of the county’s fiber network would be available for lease “to any private company and/or not-for-profit”, according to the project description. While Wysopal is waiting to see more details, he has raised concerns with Ramsey County officials about their model, based on his experience in North Saint Paul.

“I don’t’ know a lot about the details of the plan other than it’s a public and private fiber optic conduit and they try and sell that off and use the revenue to pay for the construction of the two,” Wysopal said. “I question that approach because the incumbents, the private providers, don’t want to ride on someone else’s fiber.”

Ironically, Wysopal relies more on his 4G phone for connectivity rather than the internet service in his own Fridley neighborhood.In fact, he cites the explosive growth of cellular internet service as one more factor that few outside the industry saw coming.It’s another reason why “losing” the referendum on PolarNet might well be considered a victory in hindsight, even by one of its most ardent supporters.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/telecom-referendum-loss-turns-into-a-win-with-lower-prices-and-faster-broadbandBig Cuts for Government Program to Get Kids to Walk and Bike to Schoolhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/big-cuts-for-government-program-to-get-kids-to-walk-and-bike-to-schoolMon, 16 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardA billion dollar government program to get kids to walk and bike to school that was the focus of a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) investigation faces sharp funding cuts in the 2012 federal transportation legislation signed into law by President Obama last week. Advocates for the federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program released a statement calling the legislation “a major step backwards” because “bicycling and walking programs suffer large and disproportionate cuts in funding”. Suppor...]]>A billion dollar government program to get kids to walk and bike to school that was the focus of a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) investigation faces sharp funding cuts in the 2012 federal transportation legislation signed into law by President Obama last week. Advocates for the federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program released a statement calling the legislation “a major step backwards” because “bicycling and walking programs suffer large and disproportionate cuts in funding”. Suppor...A billion dollar government program to get kids to walk and bike to school that was the focus of a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) investigation faces sharp funding cuts in the 2012 federal transportation legislation signed into law by President Obama last week.

Advocates for the federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program released a statement calling the legislation “a major step backwards” because “bicycling and walking programs suffer large and disproportionate cuts in funding”. Supporters of the program estimate that funding cuts could be in excess of 60 to 70 percent of previous year’s appropriations.

“Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a national and international movement to create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bicycle and walk to and from schools. The program has been designed to reverse the decline in children walking and bicycling to schools…reversing the alarming nationwide trend toward childhood obesity and inactivity,” according to the program’s website.

In May, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), which oversees the 100 percent federally funded program in Minnesota, announced another $768,000 in SRTS grants to 92 Minnesota schools. Altogether, the state of Minnesota has been allocated a total of $17.8 million through fiscal year 2012 to support activities like walking school buses and bike rodeos, as well as sidewalks and other structural projects.

Examples of SRTS spending revealed by FFM include:
o A 24 page state handbook with guidelines and strategies for walking and biking to school.
o $35,000 for two mobile speed monitors in St. Louis County.
o $80,000 for driver feedback, a traffic calming and walking school bus project in Rochester.
o $282,000 for city sidewalks despite vocal public opposition in Goodview.

The 2012 transportation bill eliminates special funding for the Safe Routes program, forcing SRTS to compete with several other “Transportation Alternatives” programs. All told those transportation projects will receive 33 percent less funding than in previous years. Moreover, the law allows states to opt-out and redirect existing funding, potentially gutting SRTS and other biking and walking programs in some states.

“The state opt-out provision is a major blow to funding levels. A state that chooses to opt out can use this funding for any program with no additional restrictions. Even a state DOT that cares about biking and walking may be tempted to have unrestricted funding for highway uses,” according to an analysis by the advocacy group America Bikes.

MnDOT did not respond to FFM inquiries regarding the impact of the changes and funding cuts to SRTS at the time of this posting. The impact may vary widely from state to state depending on the transportation priorities set by policy makers. Nationally, Safe Routes to School proponents clearly foresee trouble on the way.

“We will all need to work together to encourage state departments of transportation to use all of their Transportation Alternatives money, rather than opting out of half of it, and we will need to work with local jurisdictions to get them to propose Safe Routes to School projects,” writes Margo Pergroso, SRTS National Partnership deputy director. “Keep your head up, keep fighting and keep presenting the vision and need for a positive future where kids can walk and bicycle safely to school and in daily life.”

Meantime, there’s no word yet on whether the anticipated funding reductions will affect the future of the James L. Oberstar Safe Routes to School Award. The Oberstar Award is given annually to “honor his dedication to American schoolchildren as the pioneer for the federal Safe Routes to School Program.” SRTS officials are looking into FFM’s inquiry on whether the award will continue to be designated annually or face retirement like its namesake.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/big-cuts-for-government-program-to-get-kids-to-walk-and-bike-to-schoolNXL/Passenger Rail Off the Tracks in Federal Transportation Billhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/nxlpassenger-rail-off-the-tracks-in-federal-transportation-billTue, 10 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward Does New Transportation Bill Derail Billion Dollar Twin Cities to Duluth NLX Passenger Rail Line? The federal transportation bill that finally became law last week keeps the wheels on highway funding, construction jobs and public transit programs, but appears to derail passenger rail projects like the proposed $1 billion Northern Lights Express (NXL) line from the Twin Cities to Duluth—at least for now. The development bolsters the recent decision by the&...]]> Does New Transportation Bill Derail Billion Dollar Twin Cities to Duluth NLX Passenger Rail Line? The federal transportation bill that finally became law last week keeps the wheels on highway funding, construction jobs and public transit programs, but appears to derail passenger rail projects like the proposed $1 billion Northern Lights Express (NXL) line from the Twin Cities to Duluth—at least for now. The development bolsters the recent decision by the&... Does New Transportation Bill Derail Billion Dollar Twin Cities to Duluth NLX Passenger Rail Line?

The federal transportation bill that finally became law last week keeps the wheels on highway funding, construction jobs and public transit programs, but appears to derail passenger rail projects like the proposed $1 billion Northern Lights Express (NXL) line from the Twin Cities to Duluth—at least for now.

The development bolsters the recent decision by the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority to rescind financial support and pull out of the 155 mile proposed NLX line, which parallels a defunct and failed Amtrak line shut down in 1986.

“These projects are financially unsustainable. There’s not enough advocates to spend that amount of money on the federal level to support these projects. The bottom line is that Anoka County is ahead of the game. The federal government is catching up to what Anoka County has already decided,” said Anoka County Commissioner Matt Look, chair of the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority.

The legislation is “a return to a 1950s highway-heavy emphasis”, according to Barb Thoman, executive director of Transit for Livable Communities, a Twin Cities advocacy group. “The deal also eliminates a critical passenger rail program and eliminates the Senate’s efforts to establish new national freight policies.”

A curt statement posted on the American High Speed Rail Alliance website noted, “This bill will allow funding continuity for 27 months. To be continued…”

For now, NLX remains on life support, sustained by $9 million in state and federal funding already in the pipeline.

"I am grateful that there are finally people in Congress who are willing to say "no" when "no" is the right answer,” said Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah, chair of the Anoka County Board and NLX opponent. “We cannot continue to spend money we don't have on projects we don't need."

Local and state transportation officials say preliminary engineering, environmental and mapping work underway allows NLX to literally buy time until the next federal transportation bill comes up in 2014.

“The next reauthorization in 2014 will be critical for our projects, as well as other continuing efforts such as California HSR (High Speed Rail), based on whether additional funding or an ongoing program is authorized at that time,” said Dave Christianson, project manager for MnDOT. “If no new funding appears at that time, the PRIIA (Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act) and ARRA stimulus will end with very limited results.”

In the meantime, NLX officials continue to quietly wage a public relations campaign, updating city and county officials on the project’s progress and potential. They pitch NLX as the most “shovel-ready” passenger rail project in the nation and claim the $1 billion construction price tag would not require an operating subsidy within two years of starting up.

“We are hoping to have our first rider in 2015,” Ken Buehler, NLX technical advisory committee chair told the Cambridge City Council in March. “2015 might be a stretch, but it’s possible if Congress passes a six-year transportation bill next year and there’s high speed passenger rail funding in it.”

A document on the NXL website even contends the controversial project can be “completed without congressional action” by following the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) process. “There was, and still is, funding within FRA (Federal Rail Administration) and AMTRAK to initiate new passenger rail services throughout the country," Bob Manzoline, executive director of the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance, told FFM.

Supporters of the rail line maintain that this project is the "most shovel-ready passenger rail [line] in country". Yet, without state or federal funds, final approval of the project remains questionable -- at least until after the next election.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/nxlpassenger-rail-off-the-tracks-in-federal-transportation-billBack to the Future for Northstar Commuters?http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/back-to-the-future-for-northstar-commutersThu, 05 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward Reclining seats, reading lights, plug-ins for laptop computers and other amenities. No wonder a survey of Northstar passengers yielded a 94 percent satisfaction rating. However, those glowing responses came not from Northstar Commuter Rail passengers, but from riders on an earlier Northstar transit line—the far more efficient and cost effective Northstar Commuter Coach express busses that paved the way for today’s trains. ]]> Reclining seats, reading lights, plug-ins for laptop computers and other amenities. No wonder a survey of Northstar passengers yielded a 94 percent satisfaction rating. However, those glowing responses came not from Northstar Commuter Rail passengers, but from riders on an earlier Northstar transit line—the far more efficient and cost effective Northstar Commuter Coach express busses that paved the way for today’s trains. Reclining seats, reading lights, plug-ins for laptop computers and other amenities. No wonder a survey of Northstar passengers yielded a 94 percent satisfaction rating. However, those glowing responses came not from Northstar Commuter Rail passengers, but from riders on an earlier Northstar transit line—the far more efficient and cost effective Northstar Commuter Coach express busses that paved the way for today’s trains.

The current train line's latest ridership statistics through May reveal that Northstar Commuter Rail continues to go in reverse, down three percent (7,600 riders) since May 2011. The once ballyhooed line has come up short from the start, debuting with 183,000 fewer passengers than projected in 2010 and dropping 2.5 percent of ridership in 2011. At the same time, reliance on public transit in the Twin Cities continues to grow, largely on the strength of additional bus riders.

As transit officials strive to find ways to attract more riders through newly announced fare reductions, the Northstar express bus service looks better than ever in hindsight, especially in comparison to its failing successor.

The Northstar Commuter Coach began service along a 30-mile stretch of Highway 10 in late 2001 to "mimic the planned Northstar Commuter Rail line route". It got off to a running start with ridership shooting up nearly 50 percent from 2002-05, ramping up from 121,000 to 180,000 passengers and generally exceeding expectations until being retired by the new trains in 2009.

"Despite limited service, Northstar Commuter Coach has been very successful and we expect the demand to continue to grow in the future," said Duane Grandy of the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) in 2003.

Today, Northstar Commuter Rail loses more taxpayer funding in a month--$1 million--than Northstar Commuter Coach spent in its operating budget for an entire year. To be sure, the start-up Northstar bus service made just two stops on the way to Minneapolis, Elk River and Coon Rapids, while the trains also serve Big Lake, Anoka and Fridley. Nor did Northstar busses operate on weekends or for Twins games and other special events.

Yet data show that commuter coaches put Northstar on the map at a fraction of the cost to passengers and taxpayers as the trains that took their place. For example, while Northstar trains haul four times as many passengers each year, they cost some fifteen times as much to operate as the express busses. Official state transit statistics also show:

Northstar bus passengers paid a much greater percentage of the actual cost, 66 percent in the last full year of operation (2008) compared to 16 percent for Northstar rail passengers.

Northstar bus passengers received a subsidy of $1.77 per ride in the last full year of operation compared to a current subsidy of about $18.46 per rider on Northstar trains.

Northstar commuter busses filled a high percentage of available seats, exceeding more than 80 percent of capacity some years.

While Northstar Commuter Rail plans to cut fares by a dollar in its third year of service to attract customers, Northstar Commuter Coach increased fares by a dollar in its third year of service (2004), gaining 20 percent more riders and holding down taxpayer subsidies.

Just nine months into Northstar rail service in September 2010, the Met Council postponed plans to increase the "introductory" level passenger fares designed to encourage new customers in the first year of service. "Deferring the fare increase to 2012 will allow more time for the economy to improve and the unemployment rate to decline. With more people commuting to work, Northstar ridership will grow," a Metro Transit memo confidently predicted.

Now transit officials have backtracked again, reducing the so-called "introductory" fares by a $1 starting August 1, 2012. And interestingly, Met Council officials are fielding media questions about the option of shutting down the ailing commuter rail line for the first time. They say the estimated $150 million price tag for refunding the federal government’s share in Northstar makes that an unlikely option. If the Northstar Commuter Rail line continues to fall short of financial and ridership projections, however, the successful Northstar Commuter Coach service remains a link back to the future.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/back-to-the-future-for-northstar-commutersHundreds of Stearns County Tax-Forfeited Properties Up for Auctionhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/hundreds-of-stearns-county-tax-forfeited-properties-up-for-auctionMon, 18 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward Slow motion recovery has local officials saying “it’s been a long haul” Some four years after the housing bubble tanked, the number of tax-forfeited properties up for auction has suddenly mushroomed in what used to be one of the fastest growing areas in Minnesota. On Monday, June 18th more than 270 tax-forfeited vacant lots in St. Cloud, Sartell and five neighboring central Minnesota cities will go up for sale at an auction by the Stearns County Auditor in...]]> Slow motion recovery has local officials saying “it’s been a long haul” Some four years after the housing bubble tanked, the number of tax-forfeited properties up for auction has suddenly mushroomed in what used to be one of the fastest growing areas in Minnesota. On Monday, June 18th more than 270 tax-forfeited vacant lots in St. Cloud, Sartell and five neighboring central Minnesota cities will go up for sale at an auction by the Stearns County Auditor in... Slow motion recovery has local officials saying “it’s been a long haul”

Some four years after the housing bubble tanked, the number of tax-forfeited properties up for auction has suddenly mushroomed in what used to be one of the fastest growing areas in Minnesota.

On Monday, June 18th more than 270 tax-forfeited vacant lots in St. Cloud, Sartell and five neighboring central Minnesota cities will go up for sale at an auction by the Stearns County Auditor in an effort to get the parcels back on the tax rolls.

“Much of it was over-development where all the lots had special assessments against the property. The developer’s cash flow dropped off and they weren’t able to pay off their obligations,” said Steve Holthaus, tax system manager for Stearns County.

Just one house will be among the properties up for grabs to the highest bidder. Local authorities hope for better results than what they experienced in 2011, when just 3 of 30 tax-forfeited properties were successfully sold to the 75 prospective buyers attending the auction.

“We have our hopes up that there’s a slight turn in the climate we think for bidding on these,” said Mary Degiovanni, finance director for the City of Sartell. “What we hear from folks out there is there’s going to be some interest in these lots. Either way we want to get these out there and move on.”

The legal lag time for tax-forfeited property is much longer than for house foreclosures: three years for vacant lots with unpaid property taxes and five years for improved lots with special assessments.

Until recently, tax-forfeitures were rare in St. Cloud with only a few isolated cases from 1990-2011. Now the number of tax-forfeited properties working through the system is projected to explode, climbing from 6 in 2011 to 122 in 2012 in St. Cloud, while the number of tax-forfeited lots in Sartell will escalate from 2 in 2011 to more than 75 in 2012. In the next two years St. Cloud anticipates another 337 tax-delinquent lots going up for auction.

“The counties in the metro area don’t seem to have the problem we’re having. They were projecting it would keep going at the rate it was and it just didn’t,” said Holthaus. “The cost of building now is still more than buying a two year old home. There are no building permits to be issued right now.”

An analysis by the City of St. Cloud underscores the fiscal impact this lack of development has caused the city’s finances and taxpayers. The city’s bonding for infrastructure improvements went from $15 million in 1997 to $80 million in 2007. By the end of 2011, the city was owed $5 million for special assessment payments due from delinquent property owners.

St. Cloud hopes to refinance general obligation bonds to help cash flow, but expects it will take the fund “many years to recover”. In the interim, the city has curtailed projects without direct funding sources. The good news is that those measures “will allow us to financially survive the crisis with a positive cash flow and maintain our current bond rating (AA+),” said John Norman, St. Cloud finance director in the report.

The City of Sartell also plans to be less aggressive in the future in obligating local tax dollars to development. “We’re going to wait and see how the market shakes out,” said Degiovanni. “Like anything else, if the private sector can do it and does it, we’ll get out of the way.”

The Stearns County auction will be held Monday, June 18th at 6:30 p.m. at the Stearns County Service Center at 3302 County Road 138 in Waite Park. Bidders must be present in person to compete for what the county auditor says will be “many prime lots for sale.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/hundreds-of-stearns-county-tax-forfeited-properties-up-for-auctionHome Providers Warn of New Union Drivehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/home-providers-warn-of-new-union-driveThu, 14 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward They fought off a six year long unionization drive by AFSCME and SEIU, overturned in court an executive order by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and successfully supported the passage of legislation (vetoed by Dayton) prohibiting union dues from being deducted from state child care subsidy payments. Not bad for a loosely knit group of small business owners struggling to call attention to an issue that even political insiders hadn’t heard of at this time a year ago, when the Fr...]]> They fought off a six year long unionization drive by AFSCME and SEIU, overturned in court an executive order by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and successfully supported the passage of legislation (vetoed by Dayton) prohibiting union dues from being deducted from state child care subsidy payments. Not bad for a loosely knit group of small business owners struggling to call attention to an issue that even political insiders hadn’t heard of at this time a year ago, when the Fr... They fought off a six year long unionization drive by AFSCME and SEIU, overturned in court an executive order by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and successfully supported the passage of legislation (vetoed by Dayton) prohibiting union dues from being deducted from state child care subsidy payments.

Not bad for a loosely knit group of small business owners struggling to call attention to an issue that even political insiders hadn’t heard of at this time a year ago, when the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota first reported concerns over coerced unionization among the state’s 11,300 licensed family child care providers.

Today they still go by an ad hoc name, “Coalition of Child Care Providers”, a decentralized group that crosses political party, comprised by a core leadership group of nearly one dozen women scattered across the Minnesota.

Despite prevailing against politically powerful unions and Minnesota’s top elected official, however, they aren't taking anything for granted, other than the reality that home-based private providers remain more vulnerable than ever to the same forces and tactics.

“Governor Dayton made it clear that it is his intent to make this a legislative issue next session. The fight to remain independent is far from over,” warns a recent coalition email sent to thousands of Minnesota licensed family child care providers.

Last week Dayton ruled out filing an appeal of the Ramsey County District Court decision striking down his November 2011 executive order authorizing a union vote among about 4,300 home child care providers who care for state subsidized clients. Yet in the process, Dayton reiterated his view that the case for unionizing licensed home-based child care providers is far from closed.

“Although I strongly disagree with the Court’s decision, I will not appeal it. I will work toward electing a new legislature, which will support the right of working people to decide for themselves whether or not they want to join a union,” said Dayton in a statement.

“They’re pretty desperate. Look at what happened in Wisconsin,” said Jennifer Parrish, a Rochester provider who opposes unionization. “I think people are at the point where they’re not as interested in unions as they used to be. The need for unions isn’t what it used to be and with the loss of members goes the loss of dues money. So this is a really easy way to have some guaranteed income and boost their membership.”

One of the unions behind the organizing drive, AFSCME Child Care Providers Together, has already signaled its intention to continue the to pursue unionization.

“Governor Dayton respects our democratic right to decide for ourselves whether or not we want a union. Every day we wait makes us one day stronger,” said Lisa Thompson of AFSCME Council 5 in a statement. “We’ve already united to increase the qualilty of child care, to improve access for working parents, and to stabilize our profession. Any judge or legislator who tries to stop that is hurting the families who depend on us to keep their kids healthy, learning and safe.”

With the entire legislature up for election in November, child care union opponents are urging private child care providers to attend town hall meetings, find out where candidates stand, and hold workshops to educate other providers and the public on the issue.

“Based on what we’ve seen in other states and on what the union has said, it’s going to be a legislative issue as early as next session,” said Parrish. “It’s just a matter of being organized enough so that when this does come to the legislature that we’re ready for it and can continue to fend it off.”

The Coalition of Child Care Providers has warned providers statewide that union information cards they previously signed and returned to the union may be used by AFSCME and SEIU “as a signal of support” at the state legislature. The coalition recommended providers write to the unions to request their card back if they did not mean to support unionization. The statewide email also warns that more union “door knockers” may show up at their home-based business and not to “sign anything without reading it carefully.”

Currently, seven states have active child care unions (Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington). Nine states have repealed unionization or no longer enforce a prior executive order (Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin).

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/home-providers-warn-of-new-union-driveAnoka County Pulls Out of Proposed ‘High Speed’ Twin Cities-Duluth Passenger Train Linehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/anoka-county-pulls-out-of-proposed-high-speed-twin-cities-duluth-passenger-train-lineTue, 12 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward It's no longer all aboard among the local governments attempting to rev up support for a ‘high speed’ rail line from the Twin Cities to Duluth. The Anoka County Regional Rail Authority today voted 4-3 to get off the Northern Lights Express (NLX) and withdraw from the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance, effective in 90 days. “We have taken a look at the information and frankly, we are not willing to gamble with the taxpayers’ dollars on a passenger rail ...]]> It's no longer all aboard among the local governments attempting to rev up support for a ‘high speed’ rail line from the Twin Cities to Duluth. The Anoka County Regional Rail Authority today voted 4-3 to get off the Northern Lights Express (NLX) and withdraw from the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance, effective in 90 days. “We have taken a look at the information and frankly, we are not willing to gamble with the taxpayers’ dollars on a passenger rail ... It's no longer all aboard among the local governments attempting to rev up support for a ‘high speed’ rail line from the Twin Cities to Duluth. The Anoka County Regional Rail Authority today voted 4-3 to get off the Northern Lights Express (NLX) and withdraw from the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance, effective in 90 days.

“We have taken a look at the information and frankly, we are not willing to gamble with the taxpayers’ dollars on a passenger rail system where I believe the studies and numbers just don’t add up,” said Rhonda Sivarajah, Anoka County Board chair and Regional Railroad Authority member. Commissioners Look, Sivarajah, West and Westerberg voted yes on withdrawal, while Commissioners Erhart, Kordiak and LeDoux voted to continue on the project.

The practical and political impact of Anoka County’s withdrawal on the viability of NLX, which has an estimated price tag of $650 million--$1 billion, will take time to assess. In the short term, Anoka County will save about $55,000 in annual dues to the rail alliance. In the long term, Anoka County residents could save a minimum of $10 million in construction costs, if and when the passenger rail line receives approval.

“It’s very easy to say you support a project when other communities are paying the lion’s share of the cost,” said Sivarajah. “If these other communities truly believe NLX is a wise investment, they may have to invest more now.”

In a letter, NLX officials thanked Anoka County for its participation and indicated the project would continue to move ahead. "The loss of Anoka County's funding contribution, 15% of the overall 2012 budget, will not prevent the project from completing its planned 2013 activities. We hope Anoka County will consider joining the effort again in 2014," said Steve Raukar, chair of the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance.

At the same time, a controversial 2010 economic analysis that was eventually spiked by MnDOT concluded the Twin Cities-Duluth HSR (High Speed Rail) Corridor has a low benefit-cost ratio with a return of just 27-35 cents for every government dollar spent. A follow up report projects an operating subsidy of between $37-83 per passenger.

Preliminary engineering on the controversial NLX line has begun with a $5 million in federal grant and $4 million in state funding. A recent Freedom Foundation of Minnesota report revealed, however, that it’s far from all systems go—not only for NLX, but for ‘high speed’ rail projects nationwide.

Though the Obama Administration continues to support rail projects, Congress has essentially slammed the brakes on “high speed” rail. Eighth District Congressman Chip Cravaack, who represents most of the communities along the proposed NLX route, opposes the project. Proponents were hopeful of receiving funding in the 2012 state bonding bill, but came up empty handed.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/anoka-county-pulls-out-of-proposed-high-speed-twin-cities-duluth-passenger-train-lineMonticello Stops Bond Payments on Troubled Municipal Telecomhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/monticello-stops-bond-payments-on-troubled-municipal-telecomThu, 07 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward Is city headed toward default of $26 million in bonds? The City of Monticello has notified bondholders that it plans to stop repayment of $26 million in bonds for the troubled FiberNet Monticello telecom system, due to a shortfall in operating revenue from telecom subscribers. This development marks the most dramatic step yet in the downturn for what was once a nationally touted municipal telecom model. ]]> Is city headed toward default of $26 million in bonds? The City of Monticello has notified bondholders that it plans to stop repayment of $26 million in bonds for the troubled FiberNet Monticello telecom system, due to a shortfall in operating revenue from telecom subscribers. This development marks the most dramatic step yet in the downturn for what was once a nationally touted municipal telecom model. Is city headed toward default of $26 million in bonds?

The City of Monticello has notified bondholders that it plans to stop repayment of $26 million in bonds for the troubled FiberNet Monticello telecom system, due to a shortfall in operating revenue from telecom subscribers. This development marks the most dramatic step yet in the downturn for what was once a nationally touted municipal telecom model. The decision to suspend bond payments appears to be unprecedented for a local government telecom system in Minnesota.

“Net revenues of the System are not sufficient to pay both operation costs and debt service payments on the Bonds,” according to a June 6, 2012 memo signed by Jeff O’Neill, City Administrator. He also emphasized that the prospectus for the revenue bonds issued for FiberNet included a disclaimer that “Purchase of the Bonds involves a high degree of risk.”

The notification follows a city warning to bondholders in March that it sought to renegotiate the terms of its financial obligations, including interest payments of $882,668 in June and $943,670 in August. The city issued a first quarter 2012 report last month showing a flat-lined customer base and projecting an annual loss of $2.1 million for this year. The city has acknowledged using funds from its municipal liquor store operations to keep the FiberNet system financially afloat since July, 2011.

“After reviewing the financial performance of the System, the City has decided to discontinue making supplemental payments for debt service as of June 1, 2012. There is a debt service reserve fund that is available to make debt service payments for the near future in the event that net revenues of the System are insufficient to fund debt service payments,” according to the city memo.

Last week Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC), the company retained to manage and operate FiberNet for a fee of $15,000 per month, gave notice to the city that it was pulling out of the project in 90 days. “HBC had concerns about being able to continue to manage the project in accordance with HBC principles,” said Gary Evans, HBC President and CEO.

Evans has acknowledged that questions about FiberNet Monticello’s downturn could have an impact on other projects. In an interview with the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota last week, Evans said he had reached out to the proponents of RS Fiber, a $70 million project under consideration in Renville and Sibley counties. Sources say the joint powers board of RS Fiber will be meeting with Evans tonight in Winthrop to discuss HBC’s role in FiberNet Monticello.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/monticello-stops-bond-payments-on-troubled-municipal-telecomWildlife Authorities Investigating Report of Dead Eagle at Wind Energy Sitehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/wildlife-authorities-investigating-report-of-dead-eagle-at-wind-energy-siteTue, 05 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) has learned that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is investigating a report of a dead bald eagle found beneath a wind turbine in southeast Minnesota. The bald eagle was reportedly found over the weekend on a farm near the town of LeRoy. If confirmed, the incident appears to be the first reported case of a bald eagle killed at a wind energy site in Minnesota. ]]> The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) has learned that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is investigating a report of a dead bald eagle found beneath a wind turbine in southeast Minnesota. The bald eagle was reportedly found over the weekend on a farm near the town of LeRoy. If confirmed, the incident appears to be the first reported case of a bald eagle killed at a wind energy site in Minnesota. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) has learned that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is investigating a report of a dead bald eagle found beneath a wind turbine in southeast Minnesota. The bald eagle was reportedly found over the weekend on a farm near the town of LeRoy. If confirmed, the incident appears to be the first reported case of a bald eagle killed at a wind energy site in Minnesota.

“I cannot confirm there was an eagle found,” said Chuck Traxler, spokesman for the USFWS.“We want to do a thorough investigation and get the facts as to what’s going on. We are not absolutely certain of anything right now but we are looking into it.”

The case was reported on Sunday to authorities by Mary Hartman, a member of the Coalition for Sensible Siting, an organization opposed to wind farms.The incident was forwarded to theMinnesota Department of Natural Resources(DNR) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

There are few, if any, known cases of bald eagles, a protected species under federal law, being killed at a wind energy site in Minnesota.Yet the potential danger to bald and golden eagles from wind turbines has become an increasingly contentious and politically divisive issue in the siting of wind farms. Approval for a 48 turbine Goodhue County wind farm owned by billionaire T. Boone Pickens was delayed recently by Minnesota regulators, pending a comprehensive study by the developer on the potential impact to eagles and bats.

An FFM inquiry about the investigation at the offices of a wind producer in the area, Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm, was referred to corporate headquarters of EDP Renewables in Houston, Texas. Email and phone messages to EDP were not returned by the time of this post.

“As far as I know, if this is confirmed this would be the first reported case of a bald eagle killed at a wind energy site in the state of Minnesota,” Hartman said. “But if the AWA Goodhue wind project goes in, I do not believe it will be the last.”

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says Minnesota has approximately 1,300 active eagles nests, the third largest breeding bald eagle population in the country.While bald eagles were removed from the list of threatened and endangered species in 2007, they remain under the protection of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. That law prohibits “thetake, possession, sale, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, of any bald or golden eagle, alive or dead.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/wildlife-authorities-investigating-report-of-dead-eagle-at-wind-energy-siteState Announces More Taxpayer Funds to Get Kids to Walk or Bike to Schoolhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/state-announces-more-taxpayer-funds-to-get-kids-to-walk-or-bike-to-schoolTue, 05 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward The taxpayers’ tab for the federal program dedicated solely to getting kids to walk and bike to school keeps on climbing. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota recently revealed that nearly $1 billion had already been allocated for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Now the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has announced another round of $768,000 in taxpayer-funded grants dedicated to pa...]]> The taxpayers’ tab for the federal program dedicated solely to getting kids to walk and bike to school keeps on climbing. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota recently revealed that nearly $1 billion had already been allocated for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Now the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has announced another round of $768,000 in taxpayer-funded grants dedicated to pa... The taxpayers’ tab for the federal program dedicated solely to getting kids to walk and bike to school keeps on climbing. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota recently revealed that nearly $1 billion had already been allocated for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Now the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has announced another round of $768,000 in taxpayer-funded grants dedicated to paving the way for more “walking school buses”, “bike rodeos” and Fire Up Your Feet activities in 92 Minnesota schools.

“These projects will help communities increase opportunities for kids to walk and bike to school,” said MnDOT Commissioner Tom Sorel in a news release. “More kids walking and biking means less traffic on the road and in front of schools, improving safety and promoting healthier kids.”

MnDOT promotes the program’s “holistic approach" to prodding kids to go to school the old-fashioned way. The Minnesota Department of Health offers a 24-page handbook with guidelines and strategies for walking and biking to class for the 200 or so schools now participating statewide. The Rochester school district’s 33-page manual features an equipment checklist and other accessories for students and parents alike.

Most of the 2012 grants will be spent on planning and evaluation, clearing the way for 70 schools to come back and request even more funding from the feds (via MnDOT) to actually implement their plans. The other 22 grants will be spent on ”education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation activities”. Some examples:

· McGregor schools were awarded $10,000 for bike rodeos, Fire Up Your Feet and Walk to School Day programs
· Detroit Lakes schools will receive $5,000 to participate in International Walk to School Day and publicize Bike/Walk to School week and other activities
· Cook County schools will receive $27,000 to establish a sustainable walking school bus program and expand its bicycle safety rodeo.

This year, however, there’s additional government red tape for grant recipients to deal with. The new requirement follows an embarrassing backlash against a $282,000 grant awarded last year to Goodview, Minnesota. Many residents of the southeastern Minnesota city strongly opposed the idea of the state and federal government taking charge of paving their sidewalks.

“The federal government said we have all kinds of money, let’s give it away. But in reality, we know better than that,” said Greg Gabbert, a Goodview resident who still opposes the project.

Although the Goodview City Council eventually accepted the funding, MnDOT now requires a resolution of support from the local governing body that receives the grant.

Since the inception of SRTS in 2005, more than $11 million of taxpayer funding has been awarded to communities in Minnesota. MnDOT began requiring school surveys last year to track the program’s effectiveness. It’s not yet clear how many, if any, Minnesota school children now walk or bike to school as a result of the $11 million in federal largesse.

Ultimately, the Safe Routes to School program may be subject to the same fate as one of its biggest champions—former Minnesota Congressman James Oberstar. Even though Oberstar was retired by voters in 2010, the cost of the former House Transportation Committee chairman’s legislative legacy continues to add up for taxpayers through programs like SRTS.

The future of the Oberstar Award may hinge on the outcome of House-Senate conference committee negotiations on the transportation bill. If conservatives in the House of Representatives prevail, SRTS will ultimately go the way of its sponsor and be retired. Senate conferees still hope to salvage the program.

Schools interested in applying for what could be the fourth and last Oberstar honor are also running out of time. The deadline for applications is midnight June 28, 2012.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/state-announces-more-taxpayer-funds-to-get-kids-to-walk-or-bike-to-schoolFiberNet Management Company Parts Ways with Troubled Monticello City Telecom Networkhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/fibernet-management-company-parts-ways-with-troubled-monticello-city-telecom-network1Wed, 30 May 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward Hiawatha Broadband Communications pulls out amidst a range of concerns-- The news just keeps getting worse for the troubled Monticello publicly financed telecom system. Recent news reports and events continue to confirm that Mayor Clint Herbst was right when he admitted “we shouldn’t be in the telecommunications business at all”. Following up on the heels of FiberNet’s 2011 loss of $2.6 million (in spite of receiving a one-time $1.5 million legal settlement), ...]]> Hiawatha Broadband Communications pulls out amidst a range of concerns-- The news just keeps getting worse for the troubled Monticello publicly financed telecom system. Recent news reports and events continue to confirm that Mayor Clint Herbst was right when he admitted “we shouldn’t be in the telecommunications business at all”. Following up on the heels of FiberNet’s 2011 loss of $2.6 million (in spite of receiving a one-time $1.5 million legal settlement), ... Hiawatha Broadband Communications pulls out amidst a range of concerns--

The news just keeps getting worse for the troubled Monticello publicly financed telecom system. Recent news reports and events continue to confirm that Mayor Clint Herbst was right when he admitted “we shouldn’t be in the telecommunications business at all”.

Following up on the heels of FiberNet’s 2011 loss of $2.6 million (in spite of receiving a one-time $1.5 million legal settlement), the city notified bondholders that it needs to renegotiate the terms of $26 million in bonds that were used to construct the telecom network. Soon after notifying bonders of its desire to renegotiate the bonds, the city reported first quarter 2012 results that showed a stagnating customer base and a projected annual loss of $2.1 million in 2012.

On May 25th, the company retained to manage and operate FiberNet gave notice to the city that it’s electing to terminate its $15,000 monthly management contract in 90 days.

“Many matters regarding FNM (FiberNet Monticello) are in flux and in the midst of those changes HBC had concerns about being able to continue to manage the project in accordance with HBC principles,” said Gary Evans, HBC President and CEO. “This seemed a prudent time to end the agreement with FNM and free the city to negotiate with other prospective managers.”

Earlier in the week Monticello City Administrator Jeff O’Neill had told the Blandin on Broadband blog “the system is performing well with FNM staff and HBC getting great reviews from customers…Monticello is fighting the good fight and doing what it can to enhance financial viability through cost cutting and development of new resources.”

FiberNet’s prospective budget cuts were expected to include HBC, though it’s not clear that was a factor in the Winona-based company’s decision to part ways. “HBC understands discussions about refinancing the system and discussions with other potential prospective managers are underway to help assure the continued growth of the network,” Evans said in a news release. HBC also expressed pride in launching FNM and in meeting subscriber projections for the system.

In an interview with the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, Evans acknowledged reaching out to supporters of the proposed $70 million RS Fiber Network underway in southern Minnesota. “We’re looking forward to working with the people in Renville and Sibley Counties and have informed them of our decision,” Evans said. “We’ve told them if they have questions, we’d be happy to meet with them and discuss it. But we haven’t heard back from them.”

FiberNet officials say the network faces bond payments of $882,668 in June and $943,670 in August.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/fibernet-management-company-parts-ways-with-troubled-monticello-city-telecom-network1Minnesota's License to Kill (Jobs)http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesotas-license-to-kill-jobsMon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardDozens of job-killing licensing laws identified in new study ST. PAUL—A first of its kind report concludes that dozens of state licensing laws make it harder for low-to-middle income Minnesotans to find a job, forcing them to waste valuable time and resources obtaining a license that may not even be required for the same job in another state. License to Work, a study by the Institute for Justice, analyzes license requirements for 102 occupations in all 50 states and the District of Columb...]]>Dozens of job-killing licensing laws identified in new study ST. PAUL—A first of its kind report concludes that dozens of state licensing laws make it harder for low-to-middle income Minnesotans to find a job, forcing them to waste valuable time and resources obtaining a license that may not even be required for the same job in another state. License to Work, a study by the Institute for Justice, analyzes license requirements for 102 occupations in all 50 states and the District of Columb...Dozens of job-killing licensing laws identified in new study

ST. PAUL—A first of its kind report concludes that dozens of state licensing laws make it harder for low-to-middle income Minnesotans to find a job, forcing them to waste valuable time and resources obtaining a license that may not even be required for the same job in another state.

License to Work, a study by the Institute for Justice, analyzes license requirements for 102 occupations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In the 1950s, just one in 20 workers needed what the authors call “government permission to pursue their chosen occupation”, compared to nearly one in three today. (See video here).

As a result, the average US worker spends nine months in training or education, takes one exam and will spend more than $200 in fees. Minnesotans, on average, must take two exams, spend $164 in fees and 290 days in training or education.

“We weren’t measuring doctors and lawyers, we’re measuring occupations that are ideally suited to people who are entering the economy or re-entering the economy,” said Dick Carpenter, the study’s co-author. “Much of our economic growth comes from entrants on the first few rungs of the ladder. So if we’re imposing burdens on these people, we’re in essence imposing a drag on our economic growth.”

Minnesota requires licenses for 36 of the 102 occupations covered in the survey, making it the 36th most extensively licensed state. A handful of Minnesota’s licensing laws were singled out as among the most stringent in the country. State requirements for installing fire and security alarms are about twice the national average, barbers must train nine months longer than the average, while horse trainers are required to train for 700 days compared to an average of three months in other states.

Just 15 of the occupations in the study are required to be licensed in 40 or more states. Most of the 102 occupations are not required to have a license at all in at least some states. For example, Minnesota is one of just two states to license electrical helpers who hold materials or tools and clean up a work site, one of seven states to license packagers who hand pack products and materials, and one of six states to license title examiners who search real estate records, according to the License to Work study.

“It undermines the supposed need for licensure. If licensure were really necessary, you would see an occupational license in all states and consistently so across all states,” said Dick Carpenter, the study’s co-author. “The fact they don’t suggests there is no real significant threat to public health and safety. Shampooers, for example, are licensed in a number of states. Is there really a threat to public safety in states that don’t license shampooers?”

Excessive state licensing laws result in a loss of 15,000 potential jobs, according to research by University of Minnesota professor Morris Kleiner. The trend also costs Minnesota consumers $3.6 billion more for services annually, while also stifling $1.1 billion in economic growth each year, according to Kleiner’s work.

Legislation was introduced in the 2012 Minnesota Legislature to reform occupational licensing regulations “to shift the burden from entrepreneurs to the government to justify restrictions on Minnesotans’ right to pursue an occupation.” Proponents expect the bill to be reintroduced next legislative session.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesotas-license-to-kill-jobsDC Oversight Hearing on Stimulus Broadband Funding Includes Controversial Lake Co. Projecthttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/dc-oversight-hearing-on-stimulus-broadband-loans-and-grants-includes-controversial-lake-coWed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee oversight hearing this morning in Washington will focus on “whether taxpayers are getting their money’s worth” out of $7.2 billion in broadband grants and loans under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Two northern Minnesota projects were singled out in the hearing memo for the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology: a $1.7 million grant to the Leech Lake Reservation Busi...]]> A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee oversight hearing this morning in Washington will focus on “whether taxpayers are getting their money’s worth” out of $7.2 billion in broadband grants and loans under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Two northern Minnesota projects were singled out in the hearing memo for the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology: a $1.7 million grant to the Leech Lake Reservation Busi... A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee oversight hearing this morning in Washington will focus on “whether taxpayers are getting their money’s worth” out of $7.2 billion in broadband grants and loans under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Two northern Minnesota projects were singled out in the hearing memo for the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology: a $1.7 million grant to the Leech Lake Reservation Business Committee and $66 million in federal loans and grants to Lake County, Minnesota.

Congressional investigators noted in the memo that the Leech Lake project was among a number of initiatives that “never got off the ground or have been halted. The Leech Lake Reservation Business Committee in Minnesota declined its $1.7 million grant on the grounds that it would not be able to meet its grant requirements.”

The Lake County project was highlighted as an example of a project that has raised industry concerns about possible overbuilding of existing systems instead of extending service to unserved areas as required by the terms of the federal funding agreement.

“Indeed, the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is already investigating recently publicized allegations by cable company Mediacom that the Lake County government in Minnesota is not only using $66 million in BIP funding to overbuild Mediacom, but committed fraud by misleading the RUS in its application,” according to the subcommittee staff memo.

The subcommittee will be examining why less than a dozen of the 233 “shovel-ready” projects awarded $4 billion by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration have been completed to date. Congressional investigators will also focus on the $2.5 billion Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) administered by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).

Among government officials expected to testify is Jonathan Adelstein, Administrator for the Rural Utility Service, a key player in the Lake County project.

The hearing on “Broadband Loans and Grants” will begin at 9 a.m. CDT in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/dc-oversight-hearing-on-stimulus-broadband-loans-and-grants-includes-controversial-lake-coMonticello's FiberNet Warns Bond Holders as Losses Mounthttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/monticellos-fibernet-warns-bond-holders-as-losses-mountTue, 15 May 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardNew report shows municipal network fails to generate sufficient revenue to pay for operations and debt service The City of Monticello has put bondholders on notice that the municipal broadband network once hailed as a national model is unable to meet its financial obligations with revenue generated from FiberNet Monticello customers. Instead, city leaders now will discuss how to restructure payment of $26 million in revenue bonds to save the faltering broadband networ...]]>New report shows municipal network fails to generate sufficient revenue to pay for operations and debt service The City of Monticello has put bondholders on notice that the municipal broadband network once hailed as a national model is unable to meet its financial obligations with revenue generated from FiberNet Monticello customers. Instead, city leaders now will discuss how to restructure payment of $26 million in revenue bonds to save the faltering broadband networ...New report shows municipal network fails to generate sufficient revenue to pay for operations and debt service

The City of Monticello has put bondholders on notice that the municipal broadband network once hailed as a national model is unable to meet its financial obligations with revenue generated from FiberNet Monticello customers. Instead, city leaders now will discuss how to restructure payment of $26 million in revenue bonds to save the faltering broadband network.

A financial report prepared for the Monticello City Council meeting on May 14th acknowledges that FiberNet “continues to operate at a loss. For the quarter, FiberNet lost around $100,000, not including its 2012 debt payments.”

A blunt letter sent to Wells Fargo Bank in March indicates the City does not have an obligation to continue making up the losses incurred by FiberNet. “Revenues of the System are not sufficient to pay both operation costs and debt service payments on the Bonds,” Jeff O’Neill, city administrator wrote. “The City has no obligation to make supplemental payments and is considering whether to continue making supplemental payments after June 30, 2012.”

At current rates, the city projects that FiberNet’s red ink will climb to $2.1 million for 2012 with the inclusion of June ($882,668) and August ($943,670) debt payments on the once highly touted network. Meantime, the total number of customers for the video, phone and broadband services offered by FiberNet remained flat —3,484 subscribers, one more than the previous reporting period.

While Monticello is considering implementing additional steps to improve its bottom line, “none of the potential changes are likely to result in sufficient Net Revenues in the near term to fund required debt service payments,” according to the letter to Wells Fargo Bank.

In March the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota reported that FiberNet ran a $2.6 million loss in 2011 with cash from the profitable liquor store enterprise fund used to subsidize operations. Some city officials have raised the issue of alleged “predatory pricing” by private providers as a factor in FiberNet’s failure to capture more subscribers. From the outset, the city said its triple play service would be priced 15 percent below the competition.

FiberNet bonds are currently being traded on the market at approximately 32 percent of their initial issue price, according to Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA). In the last five weeks, FiberNet bonds have lost about 50 percent of their value. A proposed call with bondholders set for the end of March was postponed temporarily, but is expected to be rescheduled. “The City is interested in engaging in discussions with Bondholders regarding a possible restructuring of the Bonds. Development of a restructuring plan is likely to have a bearing on whether the City determines to continue supplemental payments,” according to O’Neill’s letter.

FiberNet Monticello’s $26.4 million in outstanding bonds contributes to total city debt of $55.1 million, a debt of about $4,600 per resident of the Twin Cities suburb. The city’s financial report acknowledges that the per capital debt is “high for a City of our size” but “does not mean the City is in bad financial health.”

FiberNet Monticello is closely monitored by those in the telecom industry and local government, due to the publicity and expectations that accompanied the network’s debut.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/monticellos-fibernet-warns-bond-holders-as-losses-mountMinnesotans’ Federal Lawsuit Aims to Stop Child Care Unionization Efforts Nationwidehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesotans-federal-lawsuit-aims-to-stop-child-care-unionization-efforts-nationwideMon, 14 May 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardA little publicized federal court case being heard on Tuesday in US District Court in Minneapolis, however, takes the divisive issue away from state lawmakers and propels it to the national level, with the potential to end or embolden what some call compulsory unionization, once and for all.

]]>A little publicized federal court case being heard on Tuesday in US District Court in Minneapolis, however, takes the divisive issue away from state lawmakers and propels it to the national level, with the potential to end or embolden what some call compulsory unionization, once and for all.

MINNEAPOLIS--To some, the actions of the Connecticut legislature that enabled a child care providers union in Connecticut might appear to add momentum to SEIU and AFCSME’s national campaign to conscript family child care business owners into becoming card-carrying dues-paying members of these two unions. Just weeks earlier, however, Governor Paul LePage (R-Maine) signed a bill repealing a 2008 law that sanctioned a union for family child care providers who receive state subsidies. Adding to the confusion, Governor Jerry Brown (D-Calif.) vetoed a bill establishing a union last fall.The back and forth makes it difficult even for those with a vested interest to track who has the advantage in what’s become the front line in the fight over holding the line on or increasing the ranks of state public employee unions.

A little publicized federal court case being heard on Tuesday in US District Court in St. Paul, however, takes the divisive issue away from state lawmakers and propels it to the national level, with the potential to end or embolden what some call compulsory unionization, once and for all.

“We wish we didn’t have to be in this position to begin with but since we were put in this position, we do believe that this violates our first amendment rights and we intend to argue that in court,” said Jennifer Parrish, a Rochester provider who’s named in the complaint.A dozen licensed family home child care providers have challenged the constitutionality of child care unionization. Specifically, the Minnesota small business owners, all women, contend the union election authorized via Governor Mark Dayton’s (D-Minn.) executive order violates their first amendment right of free political expression and association. The federal action raises constitutional challenges to the unions’ state-by-state strategy of bringing licensed family child care providers under the SEIU and AFCSME banners. If the judge sides with the providers, it could spell the end for forced unionization of privately owned home-based child care providers. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a non-profit legal aid association in Washington, DC, has offered free legal assistance to the Minnesota child care providers.“It’s unconstitutional because the first amendment guarantees everyone the right to choose with whom they associate to petition government and that the government can’t choose who’s going to represent providers for lobbying the state,” said Bill Messenger, an attorney with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation team on the case. Over time, as many as sixteen states have imposed unionization on family licensed child care providers through executive order or legislation. Yet the number of states with active child care unions has declined, a fact that has gone mostly unnoticed in the past two years. “Until litigation is successful and the court makes clear you can’t force independent business owners to be in a union, it’s always in play,” Messenger said. “In a lot of states, it wasn’t allowed but next thing you know, they’re unionized.”Currently, seven states have active child care unions (Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington). Eight states have repealed unionization or no longer enforce a prior executive order (Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin). Minnesota is currently enjoined from establishing a child care union via executive order due to a court ruling that may yet be appealed by the state.“We’re going to be fighting this battle again and again until it’s ruled unconstitutional, which is what we’re looking towards having done,” Parrish said.Barring a federal court ruling one way or another, tens of thousands of private child care providers who operate out of their homes may remain under a perpetual threat to their way of doing business.

*Minnesota enjoined from holding unionization vote by court rule pending a possible appeal by the State.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesotans-federal-lawsuit-aims-to-stop-child-care-unionization-efforts-nationwideHundreds of Millions of Tax Dollars Spent to Get Kids to Walk and Bike to Schoolhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/hundreds-of-millions-of-tax-dollars-spent-to-get-kids-to-walk-and-bike-to-schoolFri, 04 May 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardNot so long ago, kids walked and biked to their neighborhood school as a matter of course. Now, there’s a federal government program that spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to prod students and parents to do what used to be second nature: bike and walk to school.]]>Not so long ago, kids walked and biked to their neighborhood school as a matter of course. Now, there’s a federal government program that spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to prod students and parents to do what used to be second nature: bike and walk to school.

Federal program features Talk and Trek Tuesdays, Walking School Busses and Bicycle Rodeos

Not so long ago, kids walked and biked to their neighborhood school as a matter of course. Now, there’s a federal government program that spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to prod students and parents to do what used to be second nature: bike and walk to school.An estimated 42 percent of America’s school-age children walked or biked to school in 1969; today that number is an astonishing 13 percent. Many families find that walking or biking to school is a luxury they can’t afford while juggling two jobs, daycare schedules and extracurricular activities. And, unlike 40 years ago, concerns about young children walking to school alone are an important deciding factor in many parents’ decision to drive or bus kids to school. Nevertheless, Congress voted to ignore these realities in 2005 when designing the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program “to reverse the decline in children walking and bicycling to schools”.Proponents of the Safe Routes program position it as a response to: childhood obesity; eliminating rush hour congestion; and, improving safety for children who walk or bike to school. Nationally, nearly $1 billion has been disbursed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. In Minnesota, some 89 communities have received nearly $11 million to get more students literally on the right path before and after school. The Minnesota Department of Health even offers a 24 page handbook with helpful guidelines and strategies for walking and biking to school for the more than 180 schools participating statewide. “SRTS is meant to retrofit communities to fix safety problems and allow more kids to bike and walk to school,” said Lisa Bender, who oversees SRTS at the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). “This is just one part of the solution.”SRTS pedals some programs that could make getting to school under your own power seem as much of an obligation as fun. Recommendations include walking school busses,international walk or bike to school day and bicycle trains. A 33 page Walking School Bus Manual from Rochester, Minnesota schools includes an equipment checklist (reflective safety vests, walkie-talkies and pedometers) and creative names for each walk-day (Marvelous Moving Mondays, Talk and Trek Tuesdays, Wild Walking Wednesdays and so on).“Safe Routes Minnesota takes a holistic approach to all these problems, creating a positive effect on neighborhood and school communities through a simple solution: helping children walk and bike to school via safe routes,” according to the SRTS website. “When this happens, neighborhoods reap the benefits instantly – children, parents, neighbors, plants, animals and the air all become healthier and happier.”Sidewalks, signs, safety zones, promotional and implementation plans, both on and off school grounds, qualify for funding—everything from “traffic calming projects” to bicycle rodeos. The City of Eyota was awarded $355,000 to connect city sidewalks, extend a trail, and install “handicap accessible curbs to allow all ages and abilities to benefit from a safe walking path to the schools”. St. Louis County got the green light to spend $35,000 for two mobile speed monitors for use on county roads near schools. The City of Rochester received $80,000 for a “driver feedback and traffic calming project” that included a “pilot walking school bus project.” If you’re a parent with concerns about child abduction, the feds have developed talking points for that and other likely questions. “You can walk the route with your child and make sure he knows people along the way. The neighbors along the route are (will be) aware that it is a safe route and are there to help. Also, if your child walks with a group of children or in a walking school bus, he or she will be safer from strangers. Most importantly, be sure your child knows not to talk to strangers and to run for help if he feels threatened. Strangers really shouldn't be a problem.”It’s not clear how many more Minnesota kids walk and bike to school as a result of $11 million in funding poured into the state during the past seven years. The Minnesota Department of Transportation, which manages Minnesota’s program, began requiring before and after surveys in 2011, but has no feedback yet. Nationally, proponents say SRTS programs “can increase walking and bicycling by 20 to 200%” and cite a “5% increase in neighborhood walkability, which looks at the completeness of the sidewalk network, safety of street crossings, directness of routes and other measures.”Officials at Red Pine Elementary in Eagan credit a $10,000 SRTS grant in part for a decrease in car drop-offs, safety improvements and an increase in the number of students walking and biking to the Twin Cities suburban school.“Did the grant have an impact on that? Absolutely,” said Gary Anger, Red Pine Elementary principal. “So did the other things we did after that. It’s a combination of the grant and multiple strategies.”State officials did track the results of six regional training workshops held last year with 101 participants in attendance. Surveys showed “participants all indicated an increase in their understanding of assembling a team, assessment, goal setting and the 5 E’s” (evaluation, engineering, education, encouragement and enforcement). Minnesota also hosted the third Safe Routes to School National Conference last August, drawing more than 600 participants from around the country. The conference featured an outdoor summer evening reception with live jazz, food and drinks, highlighted by a flash mob scene “Ped Safety Dance” with fifty participants. “We had a fun time busting moves and cheering for pedestrian safety. Hey – it takes music to make a movement!” according to the SRTS National Partnership website. Yet the opposition to the program in one southeastern Minnesota city has proven to be an embarrassment. When MnDOT announced that the community of Goodview was awarded a $282,000 grant last fall, residents pressed city officials to reject it. “It’s just the thought that they’re going to throw this money away,” said Greg Gabbert, who lives on a street in the planned construction zone. “We live there and see there are no kids walking to school. It’s a K through fourth grade school. How many parents are letting kids that age walk to school in this day? Not many.”After a contentious communitywide debate, the city council voted to accept the federal grant. Though the mayor opposed it, other city officials view it as a benefit for both the city and school.”I am clearly in favor of it,” said Dan Matejka, Goodview City Administrator. “It’s a betterment for the community and perhaps the start of a whole sidewalk plan for the city because we have very limited sidewalks in Goodview.”Following the controversy, MnDOT added another requirement that will accompany the $900,000 in new grants to be announced this month: a resolution of support from the local governing body that receives the grant.
With SRTS currently facing reauthorization in Washington, the House of Representatives has voted to repeal the program, while the Senate still hopes to pave the way for its continuation in the transportation bill. Either way, it’s safe to say that millions of American school children will find their way to and from school each day. It’s unclear, however, whether there’s a “safe route” out of the conference committee underway for a program that’s already cost taxpayers $948 million through last fiscal year.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/hundreds-of-millions-of-tax-dollars-spent-to-get-kids-to-walk-and-bike-to-schoolWinthrop Resident and Businesses Start Petition Drive to Force Vote On $70 Million Networkhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/winthrop-resident-and-businesses-start-petition-drive-to-force-vote-on-70-million-networkMon, 23 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardWhen Dale Malheim retired from the Army last year, he never planned to be on the front lines in his new hometown of Winthrop, Minnesota. But the more he learned about the $70 million proposed RS Fiber telecom network, the more he felt duty calling again. So Malheim began a petition drive to force a referendum, thus allowing Winthrop residents a chance to overturn the city council’s recent decision to support the sprawling countywide broadband network.]]>When Dale Malheim retired from the Army last year, he never planned to be on the front lines in his new hometown of Winthrop, Minnesota. But the more he learned about the $70 million proposed RS Fiber telecom network, the more he felt duty calling again. So Malheim began a petition drive to force a referendum, thus allowing Winthrop residents a chance to overturn the city council’s recent decision to support the sprawling countywide broadband network.When Dale Malheim retired from the Army last year, he never planned to be on the front lines in his new hometown of Winthrop, Minnesota. But the more he learned about the $70 million proposed RS Fiber telecom network, the more he felt duty calling again. So Malheim began a petition drive to force a referendum, thus allowing Winthrop residents a chance to overturn the city council’s recent decision to support the sprawling countywide broadband network.

“It was just what went on in the meetings for this, it just floors me. So I said, ‘damn the torpedoes’, I want my neighbors to have the opportunity to vote,” Malheim said. “If we agree to go forward, I will cross my fingers and hope it works. But I want my friends and neighbors to have a choice in this.”

The proposed network would provide high speed internet, video and phone service to homes, farms, businesses and government offices in Sibley and Renville Counties. Proponents say subscriber revenue will repay the bonds necessary to build the system. If constructed, RS Fiber would be owned by the participating communities and counties in a joint powers agreement.

The referendum drive sets the stage for a standoff with city officials, who have led the charge for the proposed government-owned network by courting the participation of ten other cities and two county boards. The petition does not take a position for or against RS Fiber, but rather states that residents "vote on whether to proceed, or not proceed with the City of Winthrop's participation" in the project. Winthrop City Administrator Mark Erickson declined to comment on the petition drive, telling FFM he’s “not interested”.

To place a referendum on the ballot, the Winthrop city charter states citizens must gather signatures from 20 percent or a minimum of 50 registered voters who voted for mayor in the last city election. It's unclear whether anyone has previously successfully invoked the charter's obscure provision for such a vote in this southern Minnesota city of 1,400 people. A few days into his petition drive, Malheim says he’s well on the way to collecting the 85 signatures that city hall told him he needs to put the issue before city voters in the next regular or special election.

“Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Something that’s this big and involves this much money, we really should have a say in that,” Malheim said.

Three local businesses are also collecting signatures in support of holding a referendum. One of the enterprises backing the effort, the Winthrop Telephone Company, would face direct competition from the taxpayer-supported network. The owner of Lance’s Tire and Repair got involved in part to support the high speed internet service provided by the local phone company.

“I do not like government to be in competition with free enterprise. That’s my priority,” said Lance Wiborg, owner of Lance’s Tire and Repair. “I don’t have any doubts we will get enough signatures. Virtually everybody I’ve asked to sign it, I haven’t had anybody turn me down and we haven’t even gone door-to-door yet.”

If successful, the referendum would give Winthrop voters the opportunity to follow the lead of Arlington, the biggest city in the proposed system, whose city council recently opted out, taking 1,000 potential subscribers out of play.

Meantime, retired Sergeant First Class Dale Malheim plans to take his new-found activism a step further, running for a seat on the Winthrop City Council this fall.

“I spent 20 years on active duty and I had to keep my political opinions to myself and now I’m not going to,” Malheim said. “If they’re not going to listen to us, we have to get someone in there with the decency to listen to their neighbors.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/winthrop-resident-and-businesses-start-petition-drive-to-force-vote-on-70-million-networkFreedom Foundation Analysis: Local governments spend millions to lobby federal officialshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/freedom-foundation-analysis-local-governments-spend-millions-to-lobby-federal-officialsFri, 20 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMTJonathan BlakeA Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act filings finds that Minnesota’s local governments spent more than $1.1 million to lobby the federal government in 2011, and at least $3.7 million since the start of 2009.
The biggest spenders in 2011 were the City of Minneapolis ($180,000), Hennepin County ($140,000), and Anoka County ($116,000). ]]>A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act filings finds that Minnesota’s local governments spent more than $1.1 million to lobby the federal government in 2011, and at least $3.7 million since the start of 2009.
The biggest spenders in 2011 were the City of Minneapolis ($180,000), Hennepin County ($140,000), and Anoka County ($116,000). Taxpayer-funded lobbying eludes scrutiny due to state loophole

A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act filings finds that Minnesota’s local governments spent more than $1.1 million to lobby the federal government in 2011, and at least $3.7 million since the start of 2009.

The biggest spenders in 2011 were the City of Minneapolis ($180,000), Hennepin County ($140,000), and Anoka County ($116,000).

The controversial practice of using taxpayer money to lobby for additional taxpayer money is nothing new in Minnesota. In fact, local governments and their associations are required to report lobbying expenditures to the Office of the State Auditor (OSA), which prepares an annual report on local government lobbying activities. OSA’s most recent report found that local governments spent $8.25 million in 2010 on lobbying at the State Capitol.

Consequently, Minnesota’s local governments are able to spend a great deal of taxpayer money on Washington lobbyists, largely out of public view.

“Taxpayer-funded lobbying is a self-perpetuating problem that encourages higher spending and the expansion of government at every level,” said Freedom Foundation of Minnesota Vice President Jonathan Blake. “Millions of tax dollars are being used to lobby for millions more. ”

Blake continued: “When taxpayer money is used to lobby at the State Capitol, it’s reported to the state. Yet when the same money is used to hire DC lobbyists, taxpayers are kept in the dark. The double standard makes no sense.”

Notables from the Freedom Foundation’s analysis:

- Scott County discontinued federal lobbying in response to a previous FFM investigative report. That report found that Scott County consistently spent more on DC lobbying than any other local government in Minnesota.

- Anoka County has dramatically curtailed federal lobbying under the county board’s new leadership.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/freedom-foundation-analysis-local-governments-spend-millions-to-lobby-federal-officialsAs The Turbine Turns: Rural Electric Customers Pay the Price for Renewable Energy Mandatehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/as-the-turbine-turnsTue, 17 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward“Paying for wind we don’t need, can’t use and can’t sell” Taxpayers already pay a high price to subsidize wind energy through billions in federal grants, loan guarantees and tax credits that prop up the “windustry”. Now the bill for state renewable energy mandates is coming due with hundreds of thousands of Minnesota electric co-op and utility customers picking up the tab. Going green cost rural electric ratepayers in Minnesota more than $70 million last year, according to the Minnesota Rural El...]]>“Paying for wind we don’t need, can’t use and can’t sell” Taxpayers already pay a high price to subsidize wind energy through billions in federal grants, loan guarantees and tax credits that prop up the “windustry”. Now the bill for state renewable energy mandates is coming due with hundreds of thousands of Minnesota electric co-op and utility customers picking up the tab. Going green cost rural electric ratepayers in Minnesota more than $70 million last year, according to the Minnesota Rural El...“Paying for wind we don’t need, can’t use and can’t sell”

Taxpayers already pay a high price to subsidize wind energy through billions in federal grants, loan guarantees and tax credits that prop up the “windustry”. Now the bill for state renewable energy mandates is coming due with hundreds of thousands of Minnesota electric co-op and utility customers picking up the tab.

Going green cost rural electric ratepayers in Minnesota more than $70 million last year, according to the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA). The MREA represents about fifty mostly small, rural electric co-ops and utilities which serve more than 625,000 Minnesota homes and businesses.

“It’s an enormous subsidy. You have to add wind power, whether you need it or not,” said Mark Glaess, MREA executive director. “Right now we’re paying for wind we don’t need, we can’t use and can’t sell.”

The Renewable Energy Standard (RES) passed by the 2007 Minnesota State Legislature directs electric utilities to ramp up their percentage of renewable energy sales to 25 percent by 2025. Put another way, one of every four kilowatt hours must come from renewable energy by 2025. Unlike many other states, Minnesota does not exempt coops and municipal utilities from complying with renewable energy standards.To meet the state’s escalating demands, rural electric co-ops and utilities locked in long-term “take or pay” contracts to purchase power from wind farms.

The economic downturn, however, has led to a marked decline in energy demand and corresponding drop in energy prices. The sudden abundance of natural gas on the market put further downward pressure on energy prices.

The RES exists in a sort of price vacuum. No matter that coal-generated power costs considerably less than wind. Dozens of Minnesota co-ops are stuck with higher, pre-recession prices for surplus wind power which must be bought and distributed. The difference between what the wind power costs and what it resells for now adds up to tens of millions of dollars a year statewide with rural residents caught in the middle.

“It’s a well-intentioned law that did not contemplate the inexplicable law of unintended consequences because it neverconsidered resource planning to meet energy load and demand. What happens when the load goes down? Our members still have to buy it,” Glaess said. “And we’re going to have to increase rates to pay for our incumbent coal generation, which is getting smacked by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).”

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) directed electric coops and utilities to report the cost to ratepayers of complying with the RES. The top three wind loss leaders in 2011 were Great River Energy ($35 million), Minnkota ($27.5 million) and Dairyland Power ($18.1 million in Minnesota and Wisconsin combined). That’s a steep increase from 2010, when Great River Energy (GRE) reported a $22 million loss on wind energy sales, while Minnkota reported a $28.2 million loss the previous year.

“Until market prices increase, Great River Energy will likely see continued negative effects from RES compliance costs. Great River and its 28 member cooperatives urge officials to weigh the impact of further costs when considering additional regulations related to renewable energy so that our rates remain affordable,” according to the Great River Energy website. GRE expects losses to increase again in 2012 to $35 million.

The Minnesota Division of Energy Resources downplayed the financial impact on ratepayers and appeared to question the process in its RES filing. "The reports filed by utilities provide some information about the effects of renewableresources on rates. However, the rate impact of the RES is best determined through the resource planning process rather than through a simple comparison with market prices. To date, theDepartment’s IRP analyses have indicated that RES compliance is generally cost effective for theutilities subject to Minnesota’s RES Statute."

The 2007 Next Generation Energy Act allows the state to delay implementation of the RES under certain conditions, but there appears to be no appetite for that—yet. Still, even large utilities that are better positioned to meet the RES mandate and absorb the costs have warned about the uncertainties facing wind power production and prices. The key concerns include competition from natural gas, rising wind generation costs and the expiration of the federal wind production subsidy at the end of 2012.

“Even a small shift in our current expectations for gas prices, carbon regulation and wind cost could result in significant future cost impacts to fulfill the RES. In addition, individual wind projects may result in rate impacts that in aggregate could be significant,” Xcel Energy said in its 2010 report on the renewable energy mandate costs.

In Greater Minnesota, coops and utilities say it’s already hard enough for some customers to pay their utility bills in this skittish economy without the mandate. With MREA coops and utilities just halfway toward implementing the 25 percent renewable mandate, a few dollars a month on electric bills now could add up to much more.

“What’s awful is the percentage of customers who are late in paying their electric bills,” said Mark Glaess. “The average percentage that poor people are spending on energy has increased by a great deal and then they’re throwing more of this on us? It’s regressive energy economics.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/as-the-turbine-turnsRefunds Ordered for Utility Customers Gouged by Unpopular Environmentalist Energy Planhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/refunds-ordered-for-utility-customers-gouged-by-unpopular-environmentalist-energy-planFri, 06 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardThousands of CenterPoint Energy ratepayers will receive refunds after being overcharged on their heating bills under an experimental natural gas pricing system unveiled in 2010 by Minnesota environmental groups and state regulators. The politically correct pricing program--designed to penalize ratepayers for using more than a pre-determined allotment of natural gas--was the focus of an April 2011 FFM investigation.]]>Thousands of CenterPoint Energy ratepayers will receive refunds after being overcharged on their heating bills under an experimental natural gas pricing system unveiled in 2010 by Minnesota environmental groups and state regulators. The politically correct pricing program--designed to penalize ratepayers for using more than a pre-determined allotment of natural gas--was the focus of an April 2011 FFM investigation.Politically correct natural gas pilot program was focus of FFM investigation

ST. PAUL, MN—Thousands of CenterPoint Energy ratepayers will receive refunds after being overcharged on their heating bills under an experimental natural gas pricing system unveiled in 2010 by Minnesota environmental groups and state regulators. The politically correct pricing program--designed to penalize ratepayers for using more than a pre-determined allotment of natural gas--was the focus of an April 2011 Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) investigation.

This development is the latest embarrassment for the “inverted block rate pilot program” drafted by environmental groups in collaboration with state regulators. Under the pricing scheme, the more natural gas a customer used, the more the customer had to pay for each unit of natural gas—a penalty for using more than the average ratepayer. Some critics have compared the system to “charging a Prius driver $2 per gallon for gasoline, while charging an SUV owner $5 per gallon.”

The pilot program, however, backfired within months, turning into a public relations nightmare for the utility company. Hundreds of irate CenterPoint Energy ratepayers revolted over skyrocketing heating bills. The PUC was deluged with complaints from the elderly, day care providers, large families, low-income individuals and even conservation-conscious customers, all concerned about the financial impact this pricing scheme had on their heating bills. The controversy led to the suspension of the pilot program and the 2011 legislative repeal of this controversial provision from the 2007 Next Generation Energy Act.

As it turns out, what state regulators now call “unintended consequences” arose not only from the price structure itself but also from the utility’s habit of billing some ratepayers for much longer periods than others. “As a result, two customers with identical consumption patterns might pay different amounts depending upon when CenterPoint chose to bill the customers. In particular, bills that covered an unusually long period would be more likely to cause customers to pay higher rates—and the record reveals that CenterPoint sometimes billed customers for periods exceeding 35 days,” according to the PUC’s April 3, 2012 order.

Despite the program’s deep unpopularity, the Izaak Walton League and Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy are urging the PUC to reinstate the variable pricing system which they helped develop and implement. The environmental groups insist the program’s premise will be effective in reducing energy consumption “with exemptions for customers who cannot make adjustments to their energy usage.”

The Minnesota Attorney General, however, has urged the PUC to permanently end the troublesome program. In papers filed online, the attorney general’s office stated the program “has not been shown to encourage energy conservation or to assist lower-income people” in any measurable way. “The program’s ‘solution’ may be worse than the first attempt.”

The pilot variable energy pricing pilot was originally intended to run for three years. While the Minnesota Legislature has abolished the program, the PUC still has to decide whether to revamp and resume the program for the final year of the original pilot timetable.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/refunds-ordered-for-utility-customers-gouged-by-unpopular-environmentalist-energy-planRamsey County Judge Strikes Down Dayton’s Unionizationhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/ramsey-county-judge-strikes-down-daytons-unionizationFri, 06 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMTAdminA Ramsey County District Court judge issued a ruling on Friday saying that the executive order issued by Gov. Mark Dayton last year authorizing an election of state child care providers is “null in void.”According to Judge Dale Lindman, Gov. Dayton exceeded his authority because the order was an “unconstitutional usurpation of the Legislature's constitutional right to create and or amend laws” and violated the Separation of Powers doctrine.]]>A Ramsey County District Court judge issued a ruling on Friday saying that the executive order issued by Gov. Mark Dayton last year authorizing an election of state child care providers is “null in void.”According to Judge Dale Lindman, Gov. Dayton exceeded his authority because the order was an “unconstitutional usurpation of the Legislature's constitutional right to create and or amend laws” and violated the Separation of Powers doctrine.A Ramsey County District Court judge issued a ruling on Friday saying that the executive order issued by Gov. Mark Dayton last year authorizing an election of state child care providers is “null and void.”

According to Judge Dale Lindman, Gov. Dayton exceeded his authority because the order was an “unconstitutional usurpation of the Legislature's constitutional right to create and or amend laws” and violated the Separation of Powers doctrine.

“By Executive Order 11-31, the Governor is attempting to circumvent the legislative process and unionize child care providers by executive order rather than adhering to a valid legislative process,” Lindman wrote in his ruling. “In doing so, the Governor has improperly superseded the Legislature’s authority and violated the separation of powers clause as set forth in the Minnesota Constitution.”

Child care provider and plaintiff Hollee Saville was thrilled with the ruling, saying that all the time and effort child care providers have invested has finally paid off.

“We have rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. As child care providers and small business owners, we’re glad the judge ruled on the basis of the Constitution,” said Saville. “I’m thankful for all the providers and Minnesotans that have supported us in this effort.”

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) first examined the controversial effort to unionize in home child care providers in June 2011 and has worked closely with several child care providers across the state, including Rochester small businesswoman and child care provider Jennifer Parrish.

“We never believed the governor had the authority to issue such an executive order. If the unions want to organize child care providers, they should at least have to go before the legislature to make the argument why independent businesses should be forced into unions,” said Parrish.

In January 2012, Parrish and others filed an additional lawsuit in federal court challenging the governor’s executive order. It is unclear how this state court decision will impact the federal case which is due to be heard on May 15.

The federal lawsuit contends that the union effort authorized by Governor Dayton’s executive order on November 15, 2011 violates the providers’ first amendment right of free political expression and association. The National Right to Work Foundation, a nonprofit legal aid association based in Washington, DC, has offered free legal assistance to child care providers who are battling what they view as compulsory unionization.

“We’ll have to see how much more of taxpayer dollars the governor is willing to waste on this ridiculous idea. We clearly don’t want this, he knew we didn’t want this from the emails and phone calls from child care providers leading up to the executive order,” said Parrish. “At this point we just hope he’ll let it be, so we can get back to doing what we do best, which is working with children and operating our small businesses instead of having to take time off and fight this union issue at the Capitol.”

###

For more background on the issues leading up to today’s decision, visit our previous coverage below:

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/ramsey-county-judge-strikes-down-daytons-unionizationTrust Fund Environmentalism: Anti-Keystone Cashhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/trust-fund-environmentalism-anti-keystone-cashMon, 26 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardThree Minnesota environmental non-profit advocacy groupshave received nearly half a million dollars in out-of-state foundation fundingto oppose the Keystone oil pipeline project, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis.The California funding to state groups comes as a surprise, since Keystone’sproposed route does not include Minnesota.]]>Three Minnesota environmental non-profit advocacy groupshave received nearly half a million dollars in out-of-state foundation fundingto oppose the Keystone oil pipeline project, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis.The California funding to state groups comes as a surprise, since Keystone’sproposed route does not include Minnesota.Minnesota Non-Profits Receive $440,000 to Fight Keystone XL Pipeline:

Three Minnesota environmental non-profit advocacy groupshave received nearly half a million dollars in out-of-state foundation fundingto oppose the Keystone oil pipeline project, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis.The California funding to state groups comes as a surprise, since Keystone’sproposed route does not include Minnesota.

The $5 billion pipeline proposal to extract and refine oilfrom Canada’s tar sands has become a lightning rod as soaring $4 a gallon gas focuses consumers’ attention on ways to increase petroleum supplies closer to home and ease prices at the pump. A new Gallup poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly support building the Keystone pipeline by a two to one margin.

Industry and other proponents point out that the 1,170 mile pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast in Texas would create an estimated 20,000 jobs and billions in related economic activity. Yet environmental activists have drawn a line in the tar sands over Keystone, culminating in the administration's controversial decision in January to deny Keystone’s permit to cross the international border. Opponents claim the project will harm the tar sands environment and further exacerbate global warming.

The Tides Foundation, based in San Francisco, has distributed nine grants totaling $439,500 to three Minnesota non-profits through 2010, according to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and grant disclosures listed online. No records were immediately available for 2011, when the campaign targeting the pipeline picked up momentum.

Five grants totaling $269,500 were allotted to the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) in Bemidji. The group’s “pipeline organizer” was recently in Cushing, Oklahoma leading a group of Native American protesters during President Obama’s appearance to announce his support for the southern leg of the pipeline. “Tar sands is devastating First Nations communities in Canada already, and now they want to bring that environmentalhealth and social devastation to U.S. tribes,” said Marty Cobenais of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) in the Oklahoman newspaper. IEN posted a critical comment of its treatment by Oklahoma authorities on its website.

Tides Foundation also disbursed three grants totaling$60,000 to the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), a St. Paul nonprofit. On its website, MCEA highlights “being the first environmental organization to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline through litigation in state and district courts.”

Fresh Energy, a nonprofit that plays a key role in green energy advocacy at the state capitol, received a $110,000 grant from the Tides Foundation for tar sands efforts, as well. Fresh Energy regularly posts on-line comments opposing Keystone, including stories from its media arm, Midwest Energy News. Michael Noble, the group’s long time executive director, participated in an anti-Keystone rally in Minneapolis last September that was designed to put pressure on the Administration to oppose the pipeline.

National foundations have played a generous role in financing Minnesota non-profits that seek to influence Minnesota policy makers, media and public opinion. Their well-financed efforts were the subject of a recent FFM series of investigative reports titled Trust Fund Environmentalism. The series documented how the influx of $48 million of special interest “engaged philanthropy” funding to more than 40 Minnesota green advocacy groups since 2003 has helped pay the way for an effort to radically rewrite Minnesota environmental and energy policy. Fresh Energy was the biggest recipient of foundation grants, receiving some $9.4 million.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/trust-fund-environmentalism-anti-keystone-cashCity of Arlington’s Likely Rejection of Broadband Plan a Big Blow to Proposed $70M Networkhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/city-of-arlingtons-likely-rejection-of-broadband-plan-a-big-blow-to-proposed-70m-networkMon, 19 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardThe city with the greatest number of potential subscribers for the proposed $70 million public broadband network in Renville and Sibley counties is poised to pull out of the project, taking 12 percent of the system’s population base with them.]]>The city with the greatest number of potential subscribers for the proposed $70 million public broadband network in Renville and Sibley counties is poised to pull out of the project, taking 12 percent of the system’s population base with them.

City council majority signals opposition amid concern over taxpayer risk and role of government

The city with the greatest number of potential subscribers for the proposed $70 million public broadband network in Renville and Sibley counties is poised to pull out of the project, taking 12 percent of the system’s population base with them. The Arlington City Council is expected to vote today against paying a second $10,710 installment to the fiber project, due to a range of concerns over the network’s viability.

“It’s a great idea with a bad plan,” said Jim Kreft, mayor of Arlington. “I am proud of our council and our staff for examining the project at face value and examining the numbers. No one can refute the advantages of technology, but the numbers just don’t work.”

The timing couldn’t be worse for the RS Fiber network, which hopes to provide high speed internet, video and phone service to some 8,300 homes, farms, businesses and government entities in Sibley and Renville Counties. In the next few weeks, Arlington and ten other communities, along with both county boards, will be voting on whether to move forward with $70 million in bonding to build the network. The loss of Arlington’s 1,000 potential subscribers could significantly affect RS Fiber’s financial projections.

An apparent consensus on the Arlington city council developed at a March 6th public workshop. At the session, city officials reviewed a 9-page document listing the proposal’s pros and cons. “I think the question of whether or not we can do this project has been answered. However, I’m not sure if the question on whether or not we should be doing this project has,” wrote city administrator Matt Jaunich in an accompanying memo.

The city analysis included a list of potential education, medical, entertainment, governmental, public safety and economic development benefits. The list of concerns was equally lengthy, however, citing taxpayer risk, construction costs, budget implications, pricing wars with private providers, and the proper role of government.

City officials also expressed concerns over Arlington’s financial obligations to a $4.5 million backup fund in case of cashflow problems. “It is our belief that the risk to city residents is twice that of non-city/township residents. We have also yet to receive what the City’s proportion of the $4.5 million debt service fund will be,” according to the city analysis.

Another key question involves which areas will be connected first to the network. The $70 million bond issue will leave about 30 percent of the coverage area without service, also raising questions about how much it will cost to complete RS Fiber. The analysis also cited a 2011 report by the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, which stated that 39 percent of rural households do not subscribe to broadband when given the opportunity. “If tax dollars are put into the project, there is the possibility that property owners who do not have access must still pay for the system in the form of higher taxes,” the city analysis said.

RS Fiber proponents did not respond to inquiries from the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota. The RS Fiber website maintains that tax dollars will not be used to build the system or to guarantee the bonds that will be purchased to finance it. Arlington’s analysis, however, cited millions of dollars in red ink being run up currently by the city network in nearby Monticello, Minnesota. “Research shows that municipalities would rather not see a failed system and continue to support the system, generally with taxpayer dollars…If the project was to fail and we let it go back to the bond holders, it would likely negatively affect our taxpayers by resulting in increased borrowing costs (interest rates) for future bonding projects.”

The Arlington Enterprise’s coverage of the workshop indicated that at least three out of five council members opposed RS Fiber at the public forum. “Nobody from the city tells me that they want it,” said city council member Jim Pederson, according to the paper.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/city-of-arlingtons-likely-rejection-of-broadband-plan-a-big-blow-to-proposed-70m-networkCity of Minneapolis Wi-Fi Digital Inclusion Fund (DIF) Comes Up $1 Million Shorthttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/city-of-minneapolis-wi-fi-digital-inclusion-fund-dif-comes-up-1-million-shortTue, 13 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardNearing the halfway point of the decade-long agreement, the project has failed to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in projected payments to the city’s Digital Inclusion Fund.

]]>Nearing the halfway point of the decade-long agreement, the project has failed to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in projected payments to the city’s Digital Inclusion Fund.

Only 2012 grant to date goes to the city for survey

MINNEAPOLIS, MN—Expectations for Wireless Minneapolis, the city’s municipal wireless broadband network, were off the charts from the start. The 2006 deal between Minneapolis and private provider USI Wireless was hailed as “far beyond what any other city in the country has negotiated” by city officials.

The venture promised and eventually delivered on “community benefits” such as dozens of wireless hotspots, free community internet accounts and a “civic garden” with free access to “culturally sensitive” online taxpayer-funded resources in multiple languages.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of all was to be a revolving account managed by the Minneapolis Foundation to bridge the so-called digital divide—a Digital Inclusion Fund (DIF) financed with a “minimum” of five percent of the network’s profits. The Wireless Minneapolis website states that “about $11 million will go into the digital inclusion fund over the 10-year term of the contract.”

The city’s website says the fund will “ bridge the digital divide and to help folks who otherwise may not have access to the technology tools and training needed to compete in today’s digital world.”

The agreement between the City and USI Wireless estimated the following payments to the Digital Inclusion Fund . (Note: While the City of Minneapolis has stated that the DIF would receive about $11 million over 10 years, the estimated payment schedule below totals just over $9.6 million.)

Year

Estimated DIF Payment

1

0

2

$4,105

3

$467,207

4

$833,109

5

$1,015,764

6

$1,167,667

7

$1,328,718

8

$1,459,175

9

$1,609,947

10

$1,749,387

Nearing the halfway point of the decade-long agreement, the project has failed to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in projected payments to the city’s Digital Inclusion Fund.

A cumulative total of $1.3 million was projected to be paid into the DIF by the end of year four (2011) with another $1,015,764 million projected to be paid this year. Instead, only $68,307.35 from network profits appears to have been deposited into the fund to date, based on figures from the Minneapolis Foundation.

“Our profits haven’t been of an amount that would allow us to donate that amount of money,” Sam Turner, USI Wireless operations manager told FFM of the projected pay schedule.

Instead, the DIF has relied heavily on $500,000 in seed money paid up front by USI Wireless as stipulated in its $12.5 million guaranteed city contract. This seed money is separate from USI’s annual obligations to the DIF. Since 2007 the Minneapolis Foundation has awarded 28 DIF grants worth $518,985.97. In 2009 and 2011, no digital inclusion grants were awarded. The current account balance is just over $50,000.

“They do go over the financials to prove the amount of the check they’re writing is the right amount,” said Otto Doll, chief information officer for Minneapolis. “I think they’re not losing money, but they’re paying for the cost of implementing it. People need to recognize when putting in a network that needs a lot of infrastructure, it’s a very expensive thing. These guys don’t make money three months later.”

With 21,000 subscribers, Wireless Minneapolis has about one-third less than the 30,000 customers originally projected for this stage of the network’s development. City taxpayers subsidize Wireless Minneapolis by pre-purchasing $1.25 million worth of wireless services annually, whether the city uses it or not. City departments have utilized only a fraction of their pre-paid capacity, rolling over the bulk of the unused volume for possible future use.

The 2006 agreement also obligates USI Wireless to hold an annual DIF fundraising event, seek funding from other community sources for DIF, and convene two community meetings per year to encourage digital inclusion. USI Wireless made a $5,000 contribution to the DIF in lieu of holding a fundraiser one year and transferred fundraising efforts to the city, according to the company’s project manager.

“We’re hoping the fundraising efforts are going to supplant the lack of funding that we’re receiving from the percentage of profit we get from USI Wireless and hopefully that will start to pick back up as their financial situation improves and they pay back their loans,” Otto Doll said about the city taking over fundraising efforts. “I’m banking on the fundraising to pick it up more than expecting USI Wireless will increase substantially.”

In the meantime, the only digital inclusion grant made to date in 2012 went to the City of Minneapolis for $25,000. The purpose was to gather data regarding the status of the digital divide in Minneapolis. The survey has been completed and the approximately 2,700 responses are being compiled, but preliminary results indicate a surprising lack of familiarity with the municipal wi-fi network.

“I think they need to get themselves better known out there. For whatever reason, only about one-third of the population knew about them,” Otto Doll, chief information officer for Minneapolis, told FFM. “I would like USI Wireless to advertise their services better to the community because that recognition should be stronger than that.”

USI Wireless is not certain yet of the amount it will contribute to the DIF for 2011. At current levels, however, it seems the digital divide may not be destined for extinction in Minneapolis any time soon.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/city-of-minneapolis-wi-fi-digital-inclusion-fund-dif-comes-up-1-million-shortUnions Receive Vast Majority of Federal Health Care Waivers in Minnesotahttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/unions-receive-vast-majority-of-federal-health-care-waivers-in-minnesotaThu, 01 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMTAdminMinnesota labor unions are the state’s biggest recipient of federal health care waivers, according to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) records. The waivers release employers from complying with onerous provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Critics have previously accused the Obama Administration of using waivers to reward well-connected political allies, including local units of government and labor unions, while other employers are forced to operate under the law’s strict rules.]]>Minnesota labor unions are the state’s biggest recipient of federal health care waivers, according to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) records. The waivers release employers from complying with onerous provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Critics have previously accused the Obama Administration of using waivers to reward well-connected political allies, including local units of government and labor unions, while other employers are forced to operate under the law’s strict rules.

Obamacare exemptions grow by more than 100,000 in one year

Minnesota labor unions are the state’s biggest recipient of federal health care waivers, according to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) records. The waivers release employers from complying with onerous provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Critics have previously accused the Obama Administration of using waivers to reward well-connected political allies, including local units of government and labor unions, while other employers are forced to operate under the law’s strict rules. The latest round of waivers from HHS provides additional fodder for critics.

Fifteen Minnesota-based labor unions with more than 90,000 combined workers were exempted from paying for a key requirement of the health care reform law. Thirty-four Minnesota local government units and schools with 8,100 employees and fifty-six businesses and non-profits with 18,800 employees were also exempted from increasing their coverage limits and costs as required under the healthcare mandate. Altogether, 104 Minnesota unions, local governments, companies and non-profits with 117,200 employees were allowed to forgo the expensive federal mandate until 2014. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) reported that 24 Minnesota entities with about 14,000 enrollees took advantage of the exemption in the first round of federal waivers granted in 2011.

The law increases the minimal level of medical coverage to $1.25 million in 2012 and $2 million in 2013, leading to cost concerns among “mini-med” or limited benefit plans. In a news release posted online, HHS officials acknowledge that what the Affordable Care Act was supposed to give—affordable coverage—it takes away in this case.

“Requiring mini-med plans to comply with the new rules could cause mini-med premiums to increase significantly, forcing employers to drop coverage and leaving some workers without even the minimal insurance coverage they have today,” according to the release.

Among the Minnesota organizations benefiting most significantly from the federal exemption were the Carpenters and Joiners Welfare Fund (21,364 enrollees), City of Bloomington (750 enrollees), Robbinsdale Area Schools (2,108 enrollees) and Regis Corporation (3,617 enrollees).

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/unions-receive-vast-majority-of-federal-health-care-waivers-in-minnesotaNat'l Foundations Take Lessons Learned in MN and Bankroll New Expensive Green Campaignshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/natl-foundations-take-lessons-learned-in-mn-and-bankroll-new-expensive-green-campaignsThu, 23 Feb 2012 06:00:00 GMTAdminST. PAUL, MN—A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) investigation has revealed an orchestrated $48 million campaign by the national RE-AMP Energy Network to target Minnesota policymakers, news media and the public with an aggressive global warming agenda. RE-AMP, which is comprised of well-endowed national foundations, directs its money to Minnesota groups that lobby on environmental issues. ]]>ST. PAUL, MN—A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) investigation has revealed an orchestrated $48 million campaign by the national RE-AMP Energy Network to target Minnesota policymakers, news media and the public with an aggressive global warming agenda. RE-AMP, which is comprised of well-endowed national foundations, directs its money to Minnesota groups that lobby on environmental issues. Public backlash builds as green rhetoric becomes reality in complete streets, politically correct natural gas pricing, wind turbines and power lines

ST. PAUL, MN—A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) investigation has revealed an orchestrated $48 million campaign by the national RE-AMP Energy Network to target Minnesota policymakers, news media and the public with an aggressive global warming agenda. RE-AMP, which is comprised of well-endowed national foundations, directs its money to Minnesota groups that lobby on environmental issues. FFM’s tally excludes millions of dollars doled out by the same foundations to many of the same nonprofits for other environmental objectives not directly related to the comprehensive climate campaign.

At the same time, tens of millions of dollars in grants from the so-called “engaged philanthropies” to carry out RE-AMP’s agenda have filled the coffers of nonprofits and allies in eight target Midwest states, including Minnesota.

“If we’re pursuing authorization for cap-and-trade in different states, we can learn from each other and from our campaigns about what’s working and not working,” Keith Reopelle, a RE-AMP strategist with the nonprofit Clean Wisconsin said in a Monitor Institute report.

FFM did not calculate total RE-AMP funding to the scores of nonprofit recipients outside of Minnesota in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, North and South Dakota. An overview of RE-AMP grants, however, indicates a familiar pattern with millions of dollars of foundation money flooding nonprofits in all seven states.

“It’s a choice we make as a democratic society, getting engaged and trying to make it a better future for yourself and kids and your community. We’re in it for that,” said Rick Reed, a RE-AMP founder with the Massachusetts-based Garfield Foundation.

The 2008 Rockefeller Family Fund (RFF) annual report provides a typical roadmap of how green allies in neighboring states have also benefited from RE-AMP foundations’ enormous financial resources. In 2008, the New York City based foundation’s special RE-AMP Fund earmarked 23 grants for allied nonprofits in five targeted Midwestern states, including Minnesota. Wisconsin recipients got four grants worth $629,834, Illinois recipients got five grants totaling $532,750, Minnesota recipients got four grants worth $332,000, Michigan recipients got four grants worth $179,250 and Iowa recipients were awarded a $50,000 grant. The remaining five grants worth $560,000 went to recipients in three additional states to support RE-AMP projects in the Midwest.

Established expensive energy efficiency resource standards established in five states (IA, IL, MI, MN, OH)

The Global Warming Strategic Action Fund (GWSAF), a multi-million dollar endowment founded in 2007, illustrates how RE-AMP coordinates funding across the Midwest. The Kresge, McKnight and Garfield Foundations along with the Kendeda Fund have contributed $650,000 to $1 million apiece for a total of $3-4 million of seed money annually, according to the Monitor Institute report. Since its inception, 144 groups in all eight RE-AMP member states, including Minnesota, have received $10.8 million in GWSAF grants focused on global warming related projects just through 2010.

In a 2007 report titled “Increasing Payout,” the Garfield Foundation’s executive director acknowledged RE-AMP was targeting the governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Their stated objective was to “help set state-level global warming policies that meet or even exceed California’s ambitious legislation. Garfield realized that if RE-AMP does not act immediately, this opportunity might be lost.”

Indeed, such quick action led to what’s widely viewed as the nation’s most stringent cap-and-trade agreement adopted in 2007 passed by the Midwest Governors Association (MGA). Affiliated RE-AMP foundations wrote checks for $2.8 million to the Council of State Governments to help bankroll and promote passage of the far-reaching Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord (MGGRA).

Yet the climate compact once celebrated as RE-AMP’s signature achievement has now come to symbolize the potential vulnerabilities of trust fund environmentalism. As the governors who supported the regional cap-and-trade program left office, so did much of the support for their controversial agreement. Despite years of work and millions of RE-AMP dollars devoted to developing a Midwestern climate greenhouse gas market, the project was quietly shelved in 2011. The MGGRA website has gone dark, along with any momentum. The best spin RE-AMP's media arm Midwest Energy News could manage was to report ”obituaries for Midwest cap-and-trade are premature at best.”

The sustainability of other RE-AMP legislative milestones may also be in jeopardy due to another sort of climate change. A political climate change in most Midwestern states has fueled a backlash to some of RE-AMP’s agenda, starting in Minnesota.

“We are witnessing a disturbing trend with the large number of bills introduced this session that threaten to undermine Minnesota’s clean energy future and undo our proud environmental policy foundation,” said Mike Noble, executive director of Fresh Energy at a 2011 State Capitol news conference.

The Next Generation Energy Act’s de facto ban on new coal power, not only in Minnesota but regionally, faces numerous legal and legislative challenges. North Dakota recently announced legal action against Minnesota’s law, citing violations of the U.S. Constitution’s interstate commerce clause, among other claims. While Governor Dayton is contesting the North Dakota case, he signed legislation in 2011 that included a waiver for North Dakota’s new Spiritwood power plant that would allow 100 megawatts of new coal power onto the grid. The 2011 Minnesota Legislature also passed a bill to eliminate the state’s coal power ban, though Dayton vetoed the measure.

Public opposition has cropped up as RE-AMP supported programs are implemented across Minnesota. For example, a politically correct Minnesota natural gas pricing program designed by RE-AMP nonprofits backfired last year, turning into a public relations nightmare. Hundreds of irate CenterPoint Energy ratepayers expressed their anger over their skyrocketing heating bills, which were a direct result of the green groups’ pilot program. Consumers that exceeded a pre-determined level of natural gas were penalized through paying higher rates. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) was deluged with complaints from the elderly, day care providers, large families, low-income individuals and even conservation-savvy customers. The pilot program was suspended and the 2011 Minnesota Legislature repealed the controversial provision that was enacted in 2007 under the “Next Generation Energy Act.”

In 2010, the Minnesota Legislature adopted a statewide “complete streets” policy championed by RE-AMP. This new legislation requires bikes, pedestrians, trucks and cars to share the same physical space on city streets. When the reality of increased costs and inconvenience of complete streets projects becomes evident, homeowners and motorists across the state have voiced their concerns. A heated controversy broke out last summer as North St. Paul residents learned what a $1.9 million complete streets plan would mean for their neighborhood. The blueprint called for narrowing the street by 10 feet, downsizing yards, a $60-70 per foot property assessment and sidewalks residents didn’t want to be responsible for shoveling. Media reports indicated at least two-thirds of homeowners opposed the plan and the North St. Paul City Council reversed itself and rejected the project.

A mad dash to install wind farms—the cornerstone of RE-AMP’s renewable energy plan—also increasingly stirs up public resentment and resistance. RE-AMP went all out to advocate for a renewable energy standard that requires 25 percent of Minnesota’s electricity by 2025 to come from wind for all practical purposes. To date, the most controversial plan is a 78 megawatt wind farm slated for Goodhue County. The project, backed by Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, has been the subject of hearings at the State Capitol, raised concerns about endangered species, and drawn the opposition of their local Congressman John Kline. The resulting controversy has inspired legislative proposals to alter the renewable energy mandate in Minnesota and the elimination of a wind tax credit in Washington.

A RE-AMP member that specializes in energy efficiency upgrades was also recently the subject of media reports focusing on the compensation levels for the non-profit’s top employees. TheMinneapolis-based Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) receives millions of dollars in funding from local, state and federal government agencies and utility ratepayers. CEE has also received a $350,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation and a $48,000 grant from the Rockefeller Family Fund for RE-AMP related activity.

RE-AMP strategists and nonprofits acknowledge the network faces increasingly stiffer headwinds in Minnesota as well as in other Midwestern states. A potential change in strategy was noted in a document titled “On the Leading Edge” which was posted on the RE-AMP website. “Resources shifted to defending past policy victories, and reacting to initiatives to roll back existing climate and energy laws, curtail progress on high speed rail, increase regulatory barriers for wind energy, and cut transit budgets,” according to the document.

Yet as long as millions of dollars of special interest contributions continue to flow into Minnesota, RE-AMP will remain a potent political force with dozens of lobbyists to defend its agenda in St. Paul.

“While some might call RE-AMP a coalition, this is a misnomer: coalitions often have short-term, very tactical focus,” the Monitor Report states. “RE-AMP is in it for the next 40 years, and is attempting to design a network that is flexible, adaptive, and resilient enough to remain vital for that long.”

Clearly the millions of dollars injected into the political arena through “engaged philanthropy” can be as pervasive and influential as unions and corporations. The enormous amount of special interest foundation funding involved in influencing Minnesota policy makers--$48 million since 2003 for climate change alone—raises proportionately significant questions about public disclosure and transparency. RE-AMP members insist, however, that IRS regulations for nonprofits require more disclosure on their part than for energy and other companies.

“The required federal tax forms are openly available to the public,” Tom Elko, RE-AMP media director, said in a statement. “There are no such transparency measures or limitations placed on for-profit companies that oppose transition away from polluting coal to a clean, safe, modern affordable energy system based on Minnesota’s homegrown renewable sources of energy.”

For now, however, a little-known network connecting non-profit environmental activists with well-endowed mostly out-of-state foundations will continue to set the agenda for one of the most critical issues facing our state—energy and the environment.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/natl-foundations-take-lessons-learned-in-mn-and-bankroll-new-expensive-green-campaignsMonticello Telecom System Loses Millions of Taxpayer Dollars as Customers Departhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/monticello-telecom-system-loses-millions-of-taxpayer-dollars-as-customers-departMon, 20 Feb 2012 06:00:00 GMTTom StewardOnce touted as a national model for taxpayer-funded telecommunications systems, FiberNet Monticello has instead become a showcase for the high stakes involved when local government gets in the business of competing with private providers in the fast-evolving high tech world.]]>Once touted as a national model for taxpayer-funded telecommunications systems, FiberNet Monticello has instead become a showcase for the high stakes involved when local government gets in the business of competing with private providers in the fast-evolving high tech world.

Mayor raises possibility of default in interview with local paper saying “The reality is we shouldn’t be in the telecommunications business at all.”

Once touted as a national model for taxpayer-funded telecommunications systems, FiberNet Monticello has instead become a showcase for the high stakes involved when local government gets in the business of competing with private providers in the fast-evolving high tech world.

FiberNet can no longer afford to offer service priced at 15 percent less than the city’s private competitors. This was one of FiberNet’s original selling points. As the rivalry for customers heats up, city fliers appeal to residents’s civic pride with the slogan “because it’s your company” and on behalf of city employees “who put their hearts and souls into bringing you the best.”

In a recent interview with the Monticello Times, Mayor Clint Herbst even raised the possibility that “the city could just walk away from it and wash their hands of it and you’d get pennies on the dollar.” These comments were in response to what could happen if bondholders balked at renegotiating lower interest rates on $26 million in revenue bonds used to develop the system. “The worst case scenario would be if we sunk millions and millions of dollars into it and then walked away,” Herbst told the paper.

Financial documents filed for bondholders on February 15, 2012 underscore the urgency behind the city-wide marketing campaign. The filing shows FiberNet Monticello ran a $2.6 million loss in 2011, despite receiving a one-time $1.5 million legal settlement. City finance director Tom Kelly confirmed the unaudited figures. Cash from the city liquor store is being utilized to subsidize FiberNet operations with an understanding it will be repaid with interest.

The outlook doesn’t appear much better this year with the city projecting a nearly $3.5 million shortfall for the government-run telecom network. The deficit is based on an estimated $2.55 million in revenue and $5.9 million in expenditures in 2012, including $1.76 million in debt service.

As a start-up, FiberNet was projected to operate at a temporary loss while building a customer base for its triple play service. The newly released financial reports, however, indicate FiberNet Monticello lost ground in the last three months of 2011. The total number of FiberNet phone, internet and video customers fell by about 100 subscribers, a three percent decline. While FiberNet gained 86 phone customers from October through December, the city lost 81 internet and 111 video customers.

One thing is for certain—FiberNet is nowhere near being “self-sufficient” as a top city official and their telecom consultant once predicted. FiberNet’s overall number of subscribers remains well below original projections, even compensating for a lost year of service due to legal action. The number of customers for internet services comes the closest to meeting projections with 1,058 (1,737), while the number of video customers 1,423 (3,230) and phone customers 1,002 (3,388) amounts to less than half as many as projected.

While maintaining that FiberNet will be self-sustaining someday, Mayor Herbst told the MonticelloTimes “the reality is we shouldn’t be in the telecommunications business at all”. In a candid assessment of the taxpayer-backed venture, Herbst underscores the need to cut operating costs and do new projections to “see how much money it would take to keep this up and going.”

Herbst said the shortfall in 2011 caught the city council by surprise. “When we first did this, we made a promise to the community that we weren’t going to put money into it. We were a little bit shocked when money was going into the system,” the city leader said in the interview.

Besides putting pressure on bondholders, Herbst said the company that manages the system, Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC), must also produce savings. HBC currently receives $15,000 a month for its services, “similar to the contract we have with the county for police coverage,” Herbst said. “We’re buying their expertise.”

Although FiberNet was formed to foster competition, Herbst expressed surprise at how the marketplace worked in practice. “Everyone says when TDS began putting fiber in, why didn’t you quit? We couldn’t because once we agreed and signed for those bonds we were stuck for those bonds. If we had walked away, then the city would have had to come up with $26 million to pay these bondholders off. Once that happened, it was the point of no return,” Herbst told the paper.

The viability of FiberNet Monticello is being closely monitored by those in the telecom industry in and outside of Minnesota, due to the publicity and high expectations that accompanied the network’s debut.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/monticello-telecom-system-loses-millions-of-taxpayer-dollars-as-customers-departPolicymakers, Media & Public Targeted in $48M Campaign to Rewrite MN Policy (Part 2 of 3)http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/policymakers-media-public-targeted-in-48m-nonprofit-campaign-to-rewrite-mn-policy1Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:00:00 GMTTom StewardIt might be the most effective advocacy group you never heard of. Regardless, you have likely paid for enactment of their aggressive green agenda through higher taxes, higher utility bills and a slower commute to work. Organized under the banner of the RE-AMP Energy Network, a group of well-endowed national foundations has lavished unheard of sums of special interest money on Minnesota green-oriented nonprofits as they relentlessly pursue their agenda. An investigation by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) has revealed an unprecedented, coordinated campaign to influence policy makers, media coverage and public opinion.

]]>It might be the most effective advocacy group you never heard of. Regardless, you have likely paid for enactment of their aggressive green agenda through higher taxes, higher utility bills and a slower commute to work. Organized under the banner of the RE-AMP Energy Network, a group of well-endowed national foundations has lavished unheard of sums of special interest money on Minnesota green-oriented nonprofits as they relentlessly pursue their agenda. An investigation by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) has revealed an unprecedented, coordinated campaign to influence policy makers, media coverage and public opinion.
Is “engaged philanthropy” a backdoor way of injecting special interest money into the political process?

ST. PAUL, MN—It might be the most effective advocacy group you never heard of. Regardless, you have likely paid for enactment of their aggressive green agenda through higher taxes, higher utility bills and a slower commute to work.

Organized under the banner of the RE-AMP Energy Network, a group of well-endowed national foundations has lavished unheard of sums of special interest money on Minnesota green-oriented nonprofits as they relentlessly pursue their agenda. An investigation by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) has revealed a coordinated campaign to influence policy makers, media coverage and public opinion.

“We were sick of losing on this issue. We thought that if we had a better game plan, then we might win more,” said Michael Noble, a key RE-AMP strategist with Fresh Energy, in a Monitor Institute report.

The influx of some $48 million of special interest “engaged philanthropy” funding to Minnesota advocacy groups since 2003 has helped pay the way for implementation of a sweeping green agenda at the state and local level. RE-AMP funding went to groups that had 69 registered lobbyists in St. Paul in 2010, according to records at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. This army of advocates makes RE-AMP allies one of the biggest lobbying forces at the capitol on paper.

“The Garfield Foundation wants its grants to contribute to a cleaner environment, a stable climate and a sustainable future but, we know that going it alone won’t get us very far down that path. Our philanthropic dollars are leveraged at least ten-fold by investing in RE-AMP and aligning our dollars with the intelligence emerging from the RE-AMP Network,” said Jennie Curtis, executive director of the Massachusetts Garfield Foundation in the Monitor Institute report.

What has this unprecedented injection of outside special interest money wrought in the North Star state? RE-AMP’s website touts a checklist of ground-breaking legislative victories achieved over the period national foundations have contributed millions of dollars to Minnesota nonprofits.

A “Complete Streets Law” that gives bikes and pedestrians priority status on roads while driving up construction and assessment costs to homeowners

Politically correct natural gas rates that penalize ratepayers who use more than the government’s suggested allotment of energy

Measures to reduce the need for cars while increasing dependence and taxpayer spending on rail transit

Burdensome new building codes and costly energy efficiency requirements

Laid the groundwork for a labyrinth of controversial new power lines for wind energy

"Fresh Energy is proud of its cooperation with other groups and foundations who are also working for an energy system less dependent on fossil fuels, one that's good for our economy and our environment," Noble, executive director of Fresh Energy, told FFM in a statement.

FFM has tracked 285 grants totaling $48 million in funding to more than 40 non-profits and local governments since 2003 in an all-out effort to radically rewrite Minnesota environmental policy. Some of the top five non-profit recipients of this investment may be unfamiliar to many Minnesotans, but not to policy makers and state capitol insiders.

The fat checks, however, come with strings attached. A review of grants listed online by the Energy Foundation of San Francisco provides a window into how RE-AMP works. The synopsis for each grant clearly illustrates how RE-AMP directs non-profits to comprehensively target legislators, utilities, labor, public opinion, even religious institutions. Examples include:

“Educate opinion leaders and policy makers in Minnesota on the elements of a carbon cap and trade system” (Fresh Energy/$75,000/2009 )

“To accelerate the retirement of coal-fired power plants in Minnesota” (Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy/$150,000/2010)

“To support “Congregations Caring for Creation” to develop a strategic plan for its global warming work with faith communities in Minnesota” (International Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture/$15,000/2007)

RE-AMP’s network and influence extend well inside Minnesota government. Behind the scenes, RE-AMP affiliates have collaborated with state officials to draft regulations and implement new environmental mandates. For example, two key RE-AMP groups were included in a 2009 Minnesota Public Utilities Commission news release and credited with helping construct a controversial “decoupling” natural gas pilot pricing system.

In addition, several former RE-AMP strategists are well-positioned to institutionalize many key goals of the coalition. Paul Aasen, a former executive with the Center for Environmental Advocacy, now runs the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the state’s equivalent of the Environmental Protection Agency. The state’s top energy official, Bill Grant, served as Associate Executive Director of the Izaak Walton League in Minnesota. Grant is responsible for implementing the agenda championed by his former colleagues for the Dayton administration. Most recently Grant’s name has surfaced in the search for a chair for the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

Besides high profile cabinet level positions, RE-AMP advocates populate influential policy making advisory boards and commissions. Jennifer Munt, president of Transit for Livable Communities, represents District 3 on the Metropolitan Council. David Van Hattum, a program manager with Transit for Livable Communities, and Ethan Fawley, a transportation expert with Fresh Energy, were appointed to the Met Council’s Transportation Advisory Board (TAB).

Several RE-AMP members receive prominent treatment on two Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) web pages for RE-AMP supported initiatives. On the GreenStep Cities website, three RE-AMP members are listed as MPCA partners—the Center for Energy and Environment, Envision Minnesota and Transit for Livable Communities. The expert featured on the MPCA’s “Next Step” energy page is Michael Noble, executive director of Fresh Energy, a group that receives sizable RE-AMP funding in Minnesota. The expert featured on the MPCA’s “Next Step” transportation page is Dave Van Hattum with Transit for Livable Communities, another RE-AMP nonprofit. Among other RE-AMP grant recipients listed on the same website are the Center for Energy and Environment, Envision Minnesota, Green Institute, Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development, Institute for Local Self Reliance, Izaak Walton League, Minnesota Environmental Partnership and Windustry.

Yet another RE-AMP foundation donor has deep ties to the Dayton administration. Eric Dayton, Governor Dayton’s son, serves on the board of the Rockefeller Family Fund. The New York foundation has provided more than $1.8 million in funding for RE-AMP causes in Minnesota. Alida Messinger, Governor Dayton’s ex-wife and mother of Eric, previously served on the same foundation’s board.

Tarryl Clark, former Assistant Majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate, was named co-chair last year of the BlueGreen Alliance, a Sierra Club affiliated recipient of RE-AMP funding. Clark was assigned to coordinate a nine-state campaign that included Minnesota and their mission was to promote green jobs with labor and environmentalists.

DFL-friendly political action funds have also benefited from still another RE-AMP philanthropist. Over the last two election cycles, the Tides Foundation has contributed $80,000 to WIN Minnesota and $60,000 to The Alliance for a Better Minnesota.

In the past year, the Star Tribune, Minnesota’s largest newspaper, has published nine articles submitted by Midwest Energy News on energy and environmental issues in the paper’s business news section and three blog posts. The articles were presented as mainstream news stories with no explanation of Midwest Energy News’ connection to RE-AMP or Fresh Energy in the first eight articles. The last Midwest Energy News story published in the Star Tribuneincluded a disclaimer.

While proclaiming editorial independence from both Fresh Energy and RE-AMP, Midwest Energy News reliably focuses on the same agenda. For example, Midwest Energy Newspicked up reports that the Midwestern Governor’s Association had scuttled a regional cap-and-trade pact last year, a pet project that RE-AMP foundations spent $2.8 million to support and promote. The editor of Midwest Energy News, however, soon replaced his original post with an article headlined “Midwest cap and trade: Not dead, just sleeping.” While acknowledging the first post was mostly correct, the author, Ken Paulman, wrote that it was removed due to “a critical error.” Paulman included an apology for adding “to the confusion without thoroughly vetting the previously published information.”

Another prominent Minnesota media outlet, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), accepted a $3 million grant in 2008 for its American Public Media unit to cover “sustainability issues.” The grant was issued by the Kendeda Fund, a RE-AMP participating foundation. MPR also received $2.1 million from Kendeda in 2005 for coverage of sustainability issues. The American Public Media programs supported by the Kendeda funding are heard statewide on Minnesota Public Radio stations.

“Kendeda Fund supports “Global Sustainability News Coverage and Programming” at American Public Media’s Marketplace, a suite of public radio business programs produced in Los Angeles,” said Bill Gray, MPR corporate spokesman. “Specific to your interest, this support to Marketplace has no impact on Minnesota environmental and energy policy, nor does it have any impact on Minnesota Public Radio or its programming.”

A glowing MPR feature revealed the impact of RE-AMP funding in generating positive news coverage. "Nothing is more important to the future of the economy and, ultimately, to our survival than awareness of how our actions affect global sustainability," says JJ Yore, executive producer of American Public Media's Marketplace. It's a sentiment echoed across several other programs from American Public Media--the production and distribution arm of Minnesota Public Radio.”

The MPR story went on to state the grant “is allowing Marketplace®, Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett, Weekend America and American RadioWorks to expand their coverage in this area and reframe the topic in interesting and highly relevant ways. So sustainability becomes as much a story about lifestyle, economics, society and religion as one about the environment.”

There appears to be no need for RE-AMP’s nonprofit network to be concerned about another critical sustainability issue—sustainable funding for their recipient network of nonprofit organizations. After investing $48 million, the wealthy RE-AMP foundations that have targeted Minnesota lawmakers, media and public for nearly a decade show no signs of cutting back now.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/policymakers-media-public-targeted-in-48m-nonprofit-campaign-to-rewrite-mn-policy1Nat'l Foundations Bankroll $48M Campaign to Rewrite MN Environmental Policy (Part 1 of 3)http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/national-foundations-bankroll-48-million-campaign-to-rewrite-mn-environmental-policyMon, 13 Feb 2012 06:00:00 GMTTom Steward Global warming has been called by some the single greatest threat to mankind. While the rest of us await a climate Armageddon, Minnesota environmental advocacy groups have quietly reaped a financial windfall from well-endowed, largely out-of-state foundations, which have bestowed tens of millions of dollars to lobby, legislate and litigate around the issue.]]> Global warming has been called by some the single greatest threat to mankind. While the rest of us await a climate Armageddon, Minnesota environmental advocacy groups have quietly reaped a financial windfall from well-endowed, largely out-of-state foundations, which have bestowed tens of millions of dollars to lobby, legislate and litigate around the issue.Is “engaged philanthropy” a backdoor way of injecting special interest money into the political process?

ST. PAUL, MN— Global warming has been called by some the single greatest threat to mankind. While the rest of us await a climate Armageddon, Minnesota environmental advocacy groups have quietly reaped a financial windfall from well-endowed, largely out-of-state foundations, which have bestowed tens of millions of dollars to lobby, legislate and litigate around the issue.

Minnesota finds itself at the center of a larger, national phenomenon. A recent opinion piece in the Washington Post (“The Hidden Costs of Million Dollar Donations”, Dec. 30, 2011) documents how wealthy philanthropists are “setting policy priorities” through their tax-deductible giving. Politico reported on a White House meeting last year between the administration and friendly foundations. In that article, their reporter claimed that “green-minded charities were told by their advisors in 2007 to give about $600 million per year to deal with climate change in the United States and abroad.”

A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) investigation reveals that nine national foundations have steered $48 million in funding to more than 40 non-profits and local governments since 2003 in an aggressive campaign to radically rewrite Minnesota environmental policy. Based on an examination of foundation records, tax filings, other public data and conversations with key foundations and advocacy groups, FFM found that Minnesota-focused non-profits received at least 285 grants in the last eight years. It is likely that the total amount of grants distributed in Minnesota is much higher, because of “re-granting” between foundations and other practices that serve to obscure the money flow.

The staggering amounts of foundation money flowing into the state were disbursed at a critical time, as state policymakers were engaged in a dramatic reorientation of Minnesota’s environmental and energy policy. The timing and ties to the legislative process may raise concerns about whether so-called “engaged philanthropy” amounts to a backdoor channel for injecting special interest money into politics.

Beyond setting policy priorities, these foundations have been extraordinarily successful in placing key staff in positions of political power in matters concerning energy and the environment. In 2011, Governor Mark Dayton appointed two alumni of these green nonprofits to head the Pollution Control Agency and the state’s Energy Resources Division. Others were appointed to the Metropolitan Council and advisory boards.

Bill Glahn, former Director of the Minnesota Office of Energy Security during the Pawlenty Administration, sees the on-the-ground influence of this network. “When you show up to a committee hearing at the State Capitol, you see a room full of former nonprofit political appointees, nonprofit spokespeople at the witness table, and nonprofit media members broadcasting the event live on Twitter and the Internet,” Glahn said.

Of the five foundations pumping the most money into and through Minnesota, all but one has headquarters out of state. The following foundations disbursed the largest amoung of grant funding in Minnesota from 2003-2011. (See a complete list of participating foundations and grant amounts below.)

McKnight Foundation- Minnesota $16,991,727

Energy Foundation of San Francisco- California $12,515,709

Joyce Foundation- Illinois $ 5,236,723

Kendeda Fund - Pennsylvania $ 5,100,000

Garfield Foundation- Massachusetts $ 3,614,050

Their largesse supports the projects of a few activists familiar to Minnesotans such as explorer Will Steger and the Sierra Club. However, most of the recipients are not household names. Yet in the words of a comprehensive recent Monitor Institute report, “it’s working.”

How did this wealthy, largely out-of-state special interest group network gain such a powerful foothold in Minnesota, coming to dominate the public discourse on critical energy and environmental issues?

As foundation giving to green nonprofits started ramping up in 2003, the Massachusetts-based Garfield Foundation began exploring ways to more effectively push its environmentalist agenda by influencing policymakers and public opinion.

“We looked across the whole country. We have a national focus and we were incredibly impressed with the character, capacity and accomplishments of Minnesota nonprofits before we got into the picture,” Rick Reed, a Garfield Foundation energy program expert told FFM.

Garfield gathered a core group of like-minded wealthy philanthropies to team up under the banner of the RE-AMP Energy Network. The plan was to build a network of environmentally-centered foundations from across the country to target the Midwest with the hope of steering state policy in a manner that would benefit their objectives.

“For nonprofits and funders that want to go deeper on the tactics of how to build an effective network, it is useful to understand how RE-AMP has done it,” according to the Monitor Institute report.

The entrepreneurs who originally endowed the involved foundations would likely recoil at how their legacy is capitalized on today. The Rockefeller Family Fund, a RE-AMP member, traces its roots to the fossil fuel industry the foundation now endeavors to eliminate. The Garfield Foundation doles out millions of dollars generated in part from machines that spewed out the CO2 the philanthropy today labels cataclysmic. McKnight Foundation distributes Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) money to groups working to limit the expansion of mining in Minnesota and neighboring states, including a $100 million fund for “catastrophic global climate change” projects.

"The McKnight Foundation supports policy efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future, helping the Upper Midwest provide a significant portion of the nation's renewable energy supply,” Tim Hanrahan of the McKnight Foundation said in a statement. “In this, McKnight is pleased to provide funding for the RE-AMP network’s efforts across eight Upper Midwest states to improve state-level policies and reduce carbon.”

From the outset of the agreement, the foundations agreed to collectively direct their millions in annual grants toward “one audacious goal”: Drastically reducing carbon emissions to check global warming. The Midwest was deemed ripe for greater environmental impact due to the region’s concentration of manufacturing and coal power—prime producers of C02 emissions—and moderate politics.

“This ambitious project is aimed at transforming the upper Midwest energy sector into a model of clean, efficient and safe energy use, while reducing global warming pollution economy-wide 80% by 2050. RE-AMP brings environmental, labor, faith, youth, energy, conservation and other groups together to develop common priorities to achieve our goals in the areas of Clean Energy, Coal, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming Solutions and Transportation,” according to the RE-AMP website.

Operating behind the scenes, often with limited transparency, RE-AMP’s network has grown to include 14 foundations and about 135 nonprofits in eight Midwest states: Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. In Minnesota alone RE-AMP’s roster lists 33 nonprofits and funders, more than any other state.

With an annual budget of $700,000 for core operations, RE-AMP’s unorthodox organizational structure assures a low profile. By design the network remains unincorporated with no official office or headquarters. Decentralized, RE-AMP has less than a dozen staff members dispersed at member organizations like Fresh Energy in St. Paul. Teams from five key issue working groups meet monthly to track and coordinate action regionally and by state, strategizing on policy, tactics and messaging.

While thinking regionally, RE-AMP has acted locally, focusing much of its financial firepower first and foremost in Minnesota. The “blank check” strategy has paid off with a checklist of significant legislative and regulatory victories.

In Minnesota, RE-AMP-supported nonprofits have registered dozens of lobbyists to become a major force at the Minnesota Capitol, according to state records. The group’s legislative muscle helped pass a series of far-reaching environmental laws capped by the 2007 Minnesota Next Generation Act, which included the Midwest’s most stringent mandates on carbon emissions, renewable energy and efficiency.

“We’re incredibly proud of what Minnesotans are doing for themselves and they’ve inspired us. Rather than dictating to them, we’re inspired by their vision of a clean, modern, safe, efficient and affordable energy system,” said Rick Reed, one of Garfield Foundation's key RE-AMP architects. “We think all Americans deserve that and if Minnesotans want to lead the way, we’d love to use some of our philanthropic grant dollars to help achieve that.”

Regionally, the deep-pocketed philanthropists claim credit for accomplishments from thwarting 30 coal-fired power plants to generating harsh new energy and environmental regulations and ramming through the nation’s most rigorous cap-and-trade program at the Midwest Governor’s Association. Allied foundations wrote checks for $2.8 million to the Council of State Governments to bankroll and promote passage in individual states of theMidwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord (MGGRA). To build further momentum, RE-AMP created the Global Warming Strategic Action Fund, dispersing more than $10.8 million to 144 groups in all eight member states since 2007.

“I work with climate groups all over the country. While RE-AMP may not be perfect, there’s nothing like it anywhere else in the country. Climate advocates outside the Midwest know this,” said Larry Shapiro of the Rockefeller Family Fund in a RE-AMP document.

From the beginning, RE-AMP also directed millions of dollars to communications and training for grant recipients to disseminate its message in the media. The network has also launched its own environmental news service called Midwest Energy News. Although funded by RE-AMP through the Minnesota-based environmental group Fresh Energy, Midwest Energy Newsstories have been published by mainstream news outlets without any disclaimer or notification to readers. Moreover, one Minnesota-based news organization has received more than $5 million from a RE-AMP funder to provide comprehensive coverage of environmental issues.

Leading up to the critical 2012 elections, RE-AMP has been working on a massive voter identification database. The green group aims to assign potential voters in Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin a score based on their projected environmental leanings. Dubbed the Catalist Project, the tool predicts how likely voters are to support RE-AMP policies and like-minded candidates. RE-AMP media director Tom Elko was checking on the progress of the Catalist initiative at the time this report was posted. If successful, the Catalist Project positions RE-AMP to be a major player in voter turnout throughout the upper Midwest.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/national-foundations-bankroll-48-million-campaign-to-rewrite-mn-environmental-policyChild Care Providers to Challenge Unionization in Federal Courthttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/child-care-providers-to-challenge-unionization-in-federal-courtThu, 19 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMTTom StewardST. PAUL, MN- A group of child care providers from across Minnesota plan to file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis as soon as today challenging child care unionization on constitutional grounds. ]]>ST. PAUL, MN- A group of child care providers from across Minnesota plan to file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis as soon as today challenging child care unionization on constitutional grounds. National Right to Work Foundation assisting providers in challenging constitutionality

ST. PAUL, MN- A group of child care providers from across Minnesota plan to file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis as soon as today challenging child care unionization on constitutional grounds. Providers told the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) that they will ask a federal judge to rule on constitutional issues raised by the planned vote by providers with subsidized children in their care.

In November, Governor Mark Dayton issued an executive order calling for thousands of in-home child care providers to vote on unionization, but a Ramsey County judge has since issued a temporary restraining order barring the vote.

“We wish we didn’t have to be in this position to begin with,” said Jennifer Parrish, a child care provider from Rochester. “But since we were put in this position we do believe that this violates our first amendment rights and we intend to argue that in court.”.

The federal lawsuit will contend the union effort authorized by Governor Dayton’s executive order on November 15, 2011 violates the providers’ first amendment right of free political expression and association. The National Right to Work Foundation, a nonprofit legal aid association based in Washington, DC, has offered free legal assistance to child care providers who are battling what they view as compulsory unionization.

“The allegation is going to be that it’s unconstitutional, that the first amendment guarantees everyone the right to choose with whom they associate to petition government and that the government can’t choose who’s going to represent providers for lobbying the state,” said Bill Messenger, an attorney with the National Right to Work Foundation who’s working on the case.

Only 4,300 providers, out of a statewide total of 11,000, would be allowed to vote in the union election. Notably, twice that many providers (8,609) have previously accepted or say they are willing to accept children who receive subsidies, according to a recent provider survey.

“It’s something we feel very passionate about. We would like to be able to choose who represents us or we’d like to represent ourselves,” Parrish said. “We don’t want anybody speaking on our behalf to our legislators at the Capitol or lobbying on our behalf, especially when they’ve shown their interests can be very different from our interests.”

The federal lawsuit is the second major legal action resulting from the controversial child care unionization issue. At a scheduled February 22nd hearing, Ramsey County District Court Judge Dale Lindman will weigh a motion for summary judgment on whether to block the union election. In December, Lindman issued a temporary restraining order preventing the election, indicating the state legislature was a more appropriate venue to decide the issue. The unions and Governor Dayton are contesting the decision.

The federal court action takes a broader approach, raising constitutional issues that could have a far-reaching impact in Minnesota and across the nation. In recent years, labor unions have gone state-by-state seeking to find ways to bring home child care providers under union jurisdiction, gradually gaining a foothold in thirteen states.

“If they’re allowed to get away with it, this type of scheme could be applied to almost anybody, virtually any kind of business in this state, from hair dressers to grocery stores that are regulated by the state or care for people who are on state assistance,” said Bill Messenger, an attorney with National Right to Work Foundation. “I mean if you can do it to home daycare providers there’s no reason you can’t do it to a whole host of industries.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/child-care-providers-to-challenge-unionization-in-federal-courtSW Minnesota Town Says $15 Million Stimulus Broadband Project May Be Shelvedhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/sw-minnesota-town-says-15-million-stimulus-broadband-project-may-be-shelved1Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMTTom Steward“Paying for wind we don’t need, can’t use and can’t sell” Taxpayers already pay a high price to subsidize wind energy through billions in federal grants, loan guarantees and tax credits that prop up the “windustry”. Now the bill for state renewable energy mandates is coming due with hundreds of thousands of Minnesota electric co-op and utility customers picking up the tab. Going green cost rural electric ratepayers in Minnesota more than $70 million last year, according to the Minnesota Rural El...]]>“Paying for wind we don’t need, can’t use and can’t sell” Taxpayers already pay a high price to subsidize wind energy through billions in federal grants, loan guarantees and tax credits that prop up the “windustry”. Now the bill for state renewable energy mandates is coming due with hundreds of thousands of Minnesota electric co-op and utility customers picking up the tab. Going green cost rural electric ratepayers in Minnesota more than $70 million last year, according to the Minnesota Rural El...“Paying for wind we don’t need, can’t use and can’t sell”

Taxpayers already pay a high price to subsidize wind energy through billions in federal grants, loan guarantees and tax credits that prop up the “windustry”. Now the bill for state renewable energy mandates is coming due with hundreds of thousands of Minnesota electric co-op and utility customers picking up the tab.

Going green cost rural electric ratepayers in Minnesota more than $70 million last year, according to the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA). The MREA represents about fifty mostly small, rural electric co-ops and utilities which serve more than 625,000 Minnesota homes and businesses.

“It’s an enormous subsidy. You have to add wind power, whether you need it or not,” said Mark Glaess, MREA executive director. “Right now we’re paying for wind we don’t need, we can’t use and can’t sell.”

The Renewable Energy Standard (RES) passed by the 2007 Minnesota State Legislature directs electric utilities to ramp up their percentage of renewable energy sales to 25 percent by 2025. Put another way, one of every four kilowatt hours must come from renewable energy by 2025. Unlike many other states, Minnesota does not exempt coops and municipal utilities from complying with renewable energy standards.To meet the state’s escalating demands, rural electric co-ops and utilities locked in long-term “take or pay” contracts to purchase power from wind farms.

The economic downturn, however, has led to a marked decline in energy demand and corresponding drop in energy prices. The sudden abundance of natural gas on the market put further downward pressure on energy prices.

The RES exists in a sort of price vacuum. No matter that coal-generated power costs considerably less than wind. Dozens of Minnesota co-ops are stuck with higher, pre-recession prices for surplus wind power which must be bought and distributed. The difference between what the wind power costs and what it resells for now adds up to tens of millions of dollars a year statewide with rural residents caught in the middle.

“It’s a well-intentioned law that did not contemplate the inexplicable law of unintended consequences because it neverconsidered resource planning to meet energy load and demand. What happens when the load goes down? Our members still have to buy it,” Glaess said. “And we’re going to have to increase rates to pay for our incumbent coal generation, which is getting smacked by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).”

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) directed electric coops and utilities to report the cost to ratepayers of complying with the RES. The top three wind loss leaders in 2011 were Great River Energy ($35 million), Minnkota ($27.5 million) and Dairyland Power ($18.1 million in Minnesota and Wisconsin combined). That’s a steep increase from 2010, when Great River Energy (GRE) reported a $22 million loss on wind energy sales, while Minnkota reported a $28.2 million loss the previous year.

“Until market prices increase, Great River Energy will likely see continued negative effects from RES compliance costs. Great River and its 28 member cooperatives urge officials to weigh the impact of further costs when considering additional regulations related to renewable energy so that our rates remain affordable,” according to the Great River Energy website. GRE expects losses to increase again in 2012 to $35 million.

The Minnesota Division of Energy Resources downplayed the financial impact on ratepayers and appeared to question the process in its RES filing. "The reports filed by utilities provide some information about the effects of renewableresources on rates. However, the rate impact of the RES is best determined through the resource planning process rather than through a simple comparison with market prices. To date, theDepartment’s IRP analyses have indicated that RES compliance is generally cost effective for theutilities subject to Minnesota’s RES Statute."

The 2007 Next Generation Energy Act allows the state to delay implementation of the RES under certain conditions, but there appears to be no appetite for that—yet. Still, even large utilities that are better positioned to meet the RES mandate and absorb the costs have warned about the uncertainties facing wind power production and prices. The key concerns include competition from natural gas, rising wind generation costs and the expiration of the federal wind production subsidy at the end of 2012.

“Even a small shift in our current expectations for gas prices, carbon regulation and wind cost could result in significant future cost impacts to fulfill the RES. In addition, individual wind projects may result in rate impacts that in aggregate could be significant,” Xcel Energy said in its 2010 report on the renewable energy mandate costs.

In Greater Minnesota, coops and utilities say it’s already hard enough for some customers to pay their utility bills in this skittish economy without the mandate. With MREA coops and utilities just halfway toward implementing the 25 percent renewable mandate, a few dollars a month on electric bills now could add up to much more.

“What’s awful is the percentage of customers who are late in paying their electric bills,” said Mark Glaess. “The average percentage that poor people are spending on energy has increased by a great deal and then they’re throwing more of this on us? It’s regressive energy economics.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/sw-minnesota-town-says-15-million-stimulus-broadband-project-may-be-shelved1SW Minnesota Town Says $15 Million Stimulus Broadband Project May Be Shelvedhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/sw-minnesota-town-says-15-million-stimulus-broadband-project-may-be-shelvedFri, 13 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMTTom StewardEscalating cost of fiber materials raises questions for similar projects The recipient of a major federal stimulus grant and loan in southwestern Minnesota appears to be having second thoughts about proceeding with a broadband project spread out over three counties. The $15 million project which planned to expand broadband service in 15 communities may be in danger of going into the financial red zone, apparently due at least in part to the escalating costs of fiber optic cable. Woodstock Teleph...]]>Escalating cost of fiber materials raises questions for similar projects The recipient of a major federal stimulus grant and loan in southwestern Minnesota appears to be having second thoughts about proceeding with a broadband project spread out over three counties. The $15 million project which planned to expand broadband service in 15 communities may be in danger of going into the financial red zone, apparently due at least in part to the escalating costs of fiber optic cable. Woodstock Teleph...Escalating cost of fiber materials raises questions for similar projects

The recipient of a major federal stimulus grant and loan in southwestern Minnesota appears to be having second thoughts about proceeding with a broadband project spread out over three counties. The $15 million project which planned to expand broadband service in 15 communities may be in danger of going into the financial red zone, apparently due at least in part to the escalating costs of fiber optic cable.

Woodstock Telephone Company was approved by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to receive a $10.6 million grant and a $4.5 million loan from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to expand its fiber network by installing Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) to an additional 3,600 premises in Lyon, Pipestone and Rock counties.

While there’s evidently been no formal announcement, the Minneota city administrator told the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) that Woodstock Telephone informed her the company no longer intends to build a key facility in their community to house equipment for the network. FFM calls to Woodstock Telephone had not been returned at the time of this post.

“Our reaction is we’re disappointed because it was going to bring more competitiveness to the market here,” said Sarah Friesen, Minneota city administrator. “We do have high speed internet access, but they were also going to bring another option for television, too, not just the internet.”

The project was heralded in August, 2010 by the RUS, a branch of the US Agriculture Department, as a breakthrough for rural residents that would save or create 41 jobs. “More than 8,000 people stand to benefit, as do approximately 180 businesses and nearly 50 community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come,” according to the press release.

This week, however, Friesen told Minneota city council members that Woodstock Telephone officials informed her they’re “99 percent sure” they’re not moving ahead. A report in the Minneota Mascot indicated that fiber optic materials have dramatically escalated the cost of the project by more than $1 million. The higher than anticipated cost of fiber could also be a factor in several other taxpayer-funded broadband projects either on the drawing board or in progress throughout the state.

“The costs skyrocketed with the natural disasters that happened in Japan, where a lot of their fiber cable comes from,” Friesen said. “That’s why they pulled the plug on the thing. It wasn’t going to cash flow for them.”

Minneota was poised to sell a vacant lot for the fiber optic project and put a piece of government property back on the tax rolls, spending some $1,100 on legal and other fees in the process. Friesen indicated Woodstock Telephone would reimburse the city for those costs.

The sudden turn of events in Minneota revealed that others may be having second thoughts about the need for a taxpayer-funded system, as well.

“You keep hearing as a buzzword that rural Minnesota needs broadband to compete in the global economy,” Friesen told FFM. “But for city purposes, we have enough broadband for what we need. So I’m not sure if that need is out there in Minneota or not. I’m not sure that question has ever been asked or answered or not.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/sw-minnesota-town-says-15-million-stimulus-broadband-project-may-be-shelvedStill Off Track: Northstar Commuter Rail Ridership Declines in Second Year of Servicehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/still-off-track-northstar-commuter-rail-ridership-declines-in-second-year-of-serviceMon, 09 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMTTom StewardWhen the highly touted Northstar commuter rail line debuted with 20 percent fewer riders than supporters promised in its first year of service, transit officials promptly lowered expectations for year two. Metro Transit reduced the projected number of passengers from 897,000 in 2010 to 750,000 in 2011, anticipating about 16 percent fewer riders than predicted for the inaugural year. Read more...]]>When the highly touted Northstar commuter rail line debuted with 20 percent fewer riders than supporters promised in its first year of service, transit officials promptly lowered expectations for year two. Metro Transit reduced the projected number of passengers from 897,000 in 2010 to 750,000 in 2011, anticipating about 16 percent fewer riders than predicted for the inaugural year. Read more...Heavily subsidized train falls short of 2011 passenger goals and 2010 ridership numbers

MINNEAPOLIS, MN--When the highly touted Northstar commuter rail line debuted with 20 percent fewer riders than supporters promised in its first year of service, transit officials promptly lowered expectations for year two. Metro Transit reduced the projected number of passengers from 897,000 in 2010 to 750,000 in 2011, anticipating about 16 percent fewer riders than predicted for the inaugural year.
Based on ridership results obtained by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota for year two of Northstar service ending in November, 2011, it appears Metro Transit officials did not lower expectations enough. When it comes to overall ridership numbers, the $318 million commuter rail line continues to head in the wrong direction.

The number of passengers taking the commuter rail line through November, 2011 declined by some 18,000 customers over Northstar’s first year in business. (The first full month of Northstar service began in December, 2009.) The final tally came in at 696,790 passengers compared to 714,915 the year before, down about 2.5 percent. The shortfall was more dramatic when compared to ridership goals for the year, falling 53,000 riders and seven percent short of projections for 2011.

The decline in Northstar commuter rail ridership comes at a time when overall reliance on public transportation in the Twin Cities continues to increase. Through October, 2011 Metro Transit officials said combined public transportation ridership had topped 60 million rides on the strength of a 4.5 percent increase in the number of Twin Cities residents taking the bus. Only light rail and commuter rail usage was down somewhat.

Monthly Northstar ridership ranged from a high of 78,898 in August to a low of 44,197 in February. The busiest six months coincided with the baseball season from April through September, when some 406,000 passengers relied on Northstar (58 percent of annual ridership).

Metro transit officials have attributed the decrease in 2011 ridership on fewer special events to draw passengers to games and other attractions. Northstar supporters have pointed out that the number of commuters using the train on weekdays increased over the first year. They project that the opening of a new $13.2 million Northstar station now under construction in the suburb of Ramsey will increase ridership by about 200 passengers per day. The number of passengers currently riding the commuter line averages about 2330 on weekdays.

The trend toward fewer riders puts more pressure on taxpayers’ pocketbooks to subsidize the train service’s more than $16 million annual operating budget. Passengers pay only a fraction of each ticket, roughly 21 percent of the actual cost of a ride. Ticket sales were expected to cover just $2.64 million of Northstar’s annual operating costs, which were projected to drop slightly from $16.8 million to $16.5 million in 2011.

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has calculated that Northstar runs up a more than $1 million per month operating deficit. Fewer passengers than budgeted for means less revenue coming in to pay the costs of running the commuter trains. The onus falls again on increased subsidies from taxpayers, whether they ride Northstar or not. A 2010 FFM report based on Metro Transit statistics calculated that every $14 round trip ticket on the Northstar Commuter Rail Line costs taxpayers an additional $29.66 in subsidies.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/still-off-track-northstar-commuter-rail-ridership-declines-in-second-year-of-serviceLocal Officials Acknowledge $63 Million Telecom Network Involves Risk for Taxpayershttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/local-officials-acknowledge-63-million-telecom-network-involves-risk-for-taxpayersThu, 22 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMTTom StewardWINTHROP, MN—Local officials promoting a sprawling fiber optic broadband network agreed that the $63 million proposal could be a substantial risk for local taxpayers. The proposed government-backed system would connect some 7,500 homes, farms and businesses in eight southern Minnesota cities. Local elected officials from two counties (Sibley and Renville) have been promoting the venture currently known as RS Fiber.]]>WINTHROP, MN—Local officials promoting a sprawling fiber optic broadband network agreed that the $63 million proposal could be a substantial risk for local taxpayers. The proposed government-backed system would connect some 7,500 homes, farms and businesses in eight southern Minnesota cities. Local elected officials from two counties (Sibley and Renville) have been promoting the venture currently known as RS Fiber.WINTHROP, MN—Local officials promoting a sprawling fiber optic broadband network agreed that the $63 million proposal could be a substantial risk for local taxpayers. The proposed government-backed system would connect some 7,500 homes, farms and businesses in eight southern Minnesota cities. Local elected officials from two counties (Sibley and Renville) have been promoting the venture currently known as RS Fiber.

Proponents say subscriber revenue will repay the bonds necessary to build the system. If constructed, the system would be owned by the participating communities and counties in a joint powers agreement. The proposed fiber network would offer the usual “triple play”: fiber optic cable, phone and internet service to Gibbon, Winthrop, Gaylord, Arlington, New Auburn, Green Isle, Henderson and rural residents in Sibley County, as well as the rural “426” telephone exchange in the city of Fairfax, located in nearby Renville County.

“It makes me nervous and not sleep at night. It’s a lot of money,” said Mark Erickson, Winthrop city administrator and leading proponent. “The last thing I want to do is have this project not work out. But we have a risk out here of doing nothing, too.”

Yet officials promoting the venture have ruled out taking a big risk themselves, backing off previous talk of holding a referendum. They deny skirting state law that requires a 65 percent supermajority of voters to approve local government telecom services, citing an opinion from their legal team. “I’m not afraid of a public vote. It would delay us a year,” Erickson said. “But 65 percent, it’s just not the American way. It’s 50 plus one, it’s a majority.”

Opponents argue government should not and cannot compete with the high tech telecom industry. “It’s absolutely wrong. I can’t think of an area of government that has gone into a business setting and done well. Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac, the postal service, you name it,” said Steve Johnson, ex-mayor of Winthrop who works in the banking and insurance industries.

Others contend they’re pioneers doing “like our forefathers did when they settled this land”, characterizing the stakes in stark terms that could make or break their rural way of life. “If we do nothing, how do we stay competitive in the world market? Education, agriculture, health care, or whatever?” asked Dave Trebelhorn, mayor of Winthrop.

To spread the word, officials have held dozens of public informational meetings where they tout the many benefits of their government-owned system. According to materials distributed at these public meetings, RS Fiber would be faster, cheaper and provide service to many residents that are currently without high speed internet access. Thus far, some 2,900 residents have mailed in cards supporting but not committing to the service. This number falls well short of RS Fiber’s original goal of obtaining commitments by last August from at least 4,000 potential subscribers.

“I think there are some cold feet. It needs a push to bring it to a head,” Johnson said. “The sad part is we’ve expended the time, effort and money on this when we could be concentrating on making Winthrop better.”

Some of the biggest names in the industry are among four private providers already offering service in different parts of the area. Frontier Communications has ridiculed the proposed network’s numbers and projections, claiming they show RS Fiber would have to enroll every available household to be viable. Local officials defend their projections indicating the need for only 70 percent of residents to sign up.

“In a few communities in our county the services may be adequate, but our county is more than a few residents,” said Curt Reetz, a city councilman from Arlington. “Many are rural-based and some of our communities have no options for certain services.”

The Winthrop Telephone Company acknowledges the government-sponsored network could put them out of business—after 110 years. “I don’t think the government ought to be in private enterprise. This rural community was built on the strength of private enterprise, not government,” said Danny Busche, general manager of Winthrop Telephone. “We’ve invested millions in the infrastructure already. It would be impossible for us to toss that aside.”

Ironically, Winthrop city hall currently relies on the century old provider for internet service—for now. Officials contend they’ve offered to partner with all of the private providers without success. The potential fallout was stated in a blunt blog post by Winthrop’s city administrator.

“I don’t know if this project will put Winthrop Telephone out of business. But if it does you could say it might be their own fault. We started talking with Winthrop Telephone nearly two years ago about partnering with us…” Erickson wrote. “We even said we would be interested in finding a way for them to own the network once the bonds are paid off. Our goal is not to own and operate the network.”

“We are a taxpaying business with four or five employees. We live and work and invest in our community and face going broke because we won’t give up what we do now to support a government-backed operation? That really hurts,” Busche responded.

On January 19th, the $63 million question will go before the RS Fiber Joint Powers Board for expected approval. In the next few weeks, each city council and county board will vote on whether they will obligate their taxpayers to participate in the project. Officials say they will not repeat the mistakes made by other government-run telecom systems.

“We’re learning from Monticello’s mistakes, we’re learning from Windom, we’re learning from Burlington, Vermont,” Erickson said. “We understand what’s at stake, not only from a positive perspective but from a negative perspective.”

To date, about $100,000 has been spent on the effort, including a $40,000 grant from the Blandin Foundation.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/local-officials-acknowledge-63-million-telecom-network-involves-risk-for-taxpayersStimulus Funding for Controversial Wind Farm Up in Airhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/stimulus-funding-for-controversial-wind-farm-up-in-airWed, 14 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMTTom StewardAn initiative led by Congressman John Kline (MN-R) would do more than terminate the federal stimulus renewable energy program that funded the bankrupt $535 million notorious Solyndra solar power project. If successful, it would also knock the wind out of a key funding source for one of the nation’s most controversial wind projects.]]>An initiative led by Congressman John Kline (MN-R) would do more than terminate the federal stimulus renewable energy program that funded the bankrupt $535 million notorious Solyndra solar power project. If successful, it would also knock the wind out of a key funding source for one of the nation’s most controversial wind projects.Minnesota Congressman Leads Effort to End Green Energy Stimulus Funding Behind Controversial Goodhue County Wind Farm

An initiative led by Congressman John Kline (MN-R) would do more than terminate the federal stimulus renewable energy program that funded the bankrupt $535 million notorious Solyndra solar power project. If successful, it would also knock the wind out of a key funding source for one of the nation’s most controversial wind projects –T. Boone Pickens’ proposed $180 million AWA Goodhue Wind farm in Kline’s congressional district.

Last week Kline circulated a letter urging his House colleagues to support the immediate elimination of Section 1603 renewable energy grants. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would allow the so-called green grants to expire. Since tax provisions such as Section 1603 must originate in the House, this effectively curtails the program.

“Given the economic challenges facing our country, we cannot in good conscience use taxpayer dollars to subsidize industries that have failed to demonstrate proven results to help our long-term energy strategy,” Kline said in a release.

Many wind and other renewable energy projects depend on the Section 1603 grants, which were previously slated for elimination after 2010. Yet Congress extended the green energy cash grants for another year at the cost of an additional $3 billion, bringing the total spent thus far to $9.2 billion.

AWA Goodhue Wind, the developer of the 78 megawatt wind farm in southeastern Minnesota, may be among those with the most to lose if the congressman’s effort is successful. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) both support the Goodhue Wind project.

“I think it’s a huge deal. I think the tides are turning,” said Kristi Rosenquist, an opponent of the wind project. “Congress is seeing we shouldn’t just keep pouring cash into an abyss for something that’s completely ineffective. I’m hopeful that Congress is recognizing this money does not create very many jobs and the jobs it does create are at a huge expense.”

“While the goal of the program is to increase the use of renewable energy, including wind, I have escalating concerns about the unintended consequences of the program. For example, in Minnesota, a wind developer is working to establish a farm with more than 50 wind turbines despite strong concerns vocalized by hundreds of residents the program is slated to serve,” Kline wrote in his recent letter.

While the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has issued the project a permit, the developers must obtain local township permits and to submit an “avian and bat protection plan” for state approval. With less than three weeks to go, it appears increasingly unlikely that construction will get underway in time to qualify, should the stimulus program fail to be renewed.

“As a condition of permit, there’s a host of compliance provisions that must be filed,” said Bob Cupit, a PUC wind expert. “There’s some work to be done on their end. It’s certainly going to take more than three weeks.”

Goodhue Wind could still qualify for other renewable energy tax credit programs. The wind company’s representatives did not respond to FFM’s requests for comment.

The possibility that the stimulus green grants could be defunded, however, has re-energized opponents, who have fought against countervailing political winds for three years. “The primary issue at the federal level has been the funding,” Rosenquist said. “If we didn’t have this federal funding, I think there’d be very few wind turbines being built.”

Overall, 93 renewable energy Minnesota projects with a capacity of 290 megawatts have received grants totaling $186.42 million under Section 1603 of the federal stimulus legislation.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/stimulus-funding-for-controversial-wind-farm-up-in-airAFSCME Comes Calling for Providers After Judge Puts Union Vote on Holdhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/afscme-comes-calling-for-providers-after-judge-puts-union-vote-on-holdWed, 07 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMTTom StewardA day after a judge stopped a statewide election on a child care provider union, AFSCME organizers regrouped in a 40-minute conference call last night with providers. The call, which was open to all 2,300 providers in AFSCME’s region, showed that organizers still have a long way to go in order to win over skeptical providers. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has obtained the audio of the call in which two top AFSCME organizers downplayed the significance of Monday’s court order putting ...]]>A day after a judge stopped a statewide election on a child care provider union, AFSCME organizers regrouped in a 40-minute conference call last night with providers. The call, which was open to all 2,300 providers in AFSCME’s region, showed that organizers still have a long way to go in order to win over skeptical providers. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has obtained the audio of the call in which two top AFSCME organizers downplayed the significance of Monday’s court order putting ...A day after a judge stopped a statewide election on a child care provider union, AFSCME organizers regrouped in a 40-minute conference call last night with providers. The call, which was open to all 2,300 providers in AFSCME’s region, showed that organizers still have a long way to go in order to win over skeptical providers.

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has obtained the audio of the call in which two top AFSCME organizers downplayed the significance of Monday’s court order putting the controversial union vote on hold, calling it a “temporary setback”.

“At some point during the spring, there will be an election and there will be further court hearings on that,” Eric Lehto, AFSCME Council 5 Organizing Director said during the call. “But everybody really needs to understand that this is just a temporary bump in the road and we are expecting that there will be an election sometime after the new year.”

On the call the AFSCME representatives acknowledged that licensed family child care providers, as small business owners, present an unconventional target for a union drive.

“Child care providers don’t fit the traditional union model that we know of today,” said Lisa Thompson, a member of AFSCME’s Child Care Providers Together. “We believe there is not going to be anything in Minnesota that’s going to stop providers from having that right recognized for ourselves.”

Providers from Bemidji, Brainerd, International Falls, North Branch, Duluth and other communities asked questions that indicated strong concerns about the need for a union, the cost of dues, the potential interference with their businesses and why all 11,000 licensed family child care providers were not going to be allowed to vote.

The call participants were also asked to answer four poll questions, including whether or not they would vote for the union. The results were not made available on the call.

The AFSCME organizers were particularly critical of the state legislature, which Ramsey Court Judge Dale

Lindman indicated is the appropriate venue for the unionization issue to be resolved.

“Fundamentally, what’s been going on is that right now we have the legislature trying to deny the providers a voice themselves directly that affects their work and the families that they serve,” Lehto said.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/afscme-comes-calling-for-providers-after-judge-puts-union-vote-on-holdRamsey County Judge Halts Childcare Union Votehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/ramsey-county-judge-halts-childcare-union-voteMon, 05 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdmin
Just two days before ballots were set to go out, a Ramsey County Judge has halted the upcoming election on child care unionization by issuing a temporary restraining order. Ramsey County Judge Lindman said the matter should go through the legislature instead. He also said the election was “very harmful to all of the parties involved.” ]]>
Just two days before ballots were set to go out, a Ramsey County Judge has halted the upcoming election on child care unionization by issuing a temporary restraining order. Ramsey County Judge Lindman said the matter should go through the legislature instead. He also said the election was “very harmful to all of the parties involved.”

Just two days before ballots were set to go out, a Ramsey County Judge has halted the upcoming election on child care unionization by issuing a temporary restraining order. Ramsey County Judge Lindman said the matter should go through the legislature instead. He also said the election was “very harmful to all of the parties involved.”

Minnesota child care providers who were against the proposed unionization were pleased with the ruling.

“I’m jumping for joy. I’m so excited I’m thinking about letting my kids skip nap time!” said Hollee Saville, a provider from St. Michael and participant in the lawsuit.

Opponents of the upcoming election that would unionize nearly 4,300 in-home child care providers argued Monday to temporarily restrain the vote. Ballots were scheduled to reach mailboxes this week.

“I am thrilled this vote is not going to take place,” said Jennifer Parrish, a Rochester provider who founded the Coalition of Family Childcare Providers. “This certainly isn’t the end-all and we have a lot of work ahead of us. But I’m glad a vote like this isn’t going to take place where just a third of the childcare providers get a ballot.”

Only child care providers that are eligible for child care subsidies would have been allowed to vote under the executive order issued by Governor Dayton. The judge also raised concern that only 4,300 of the more than 11,000 child care providers would be eligible to vote.

“Our next move is to make sure our legislators understand this shouldn’t happen and that small business shouldn’t be forced under the umbrella of union representation if they feel it won’t benefit their businesses,” Parrish added.

In Thursday’s Senate Rules and Administration Committee, the state Senate filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of the lawsuit to suspend the vote on the basis of the executive order that many deem outside the governor’s powers.

Judge Lindman set a hearing on the injunction for January 16th.

“It means we have more time to educate providers and get the truth out,” Hollee said. “It gives me hope. We’re small business owners and I keep telling people, who’s next?”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/ramsey-county-judge-halts-childcare-union-voteTis the Season but Tanning Tax Takes a Toll as Dozens of Minnesota Salons Foldhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/tis-the-season-but-tanning-tax-takes-a-toll-as-dozens-of-minnesota-salons-foldTue, 29 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminIt's that time of year again. Thousands of Minnesotans begin implementing evacuation plans to temporarily relocate somewhere south and warm. Before embarking, many make a preemptive appointment in a tanning facility to ramp up their exposure to ultra violet (UV) rays in advance. This winter, however, traveling tanners will have to look harder for a place to catch some rays up north. ]]>It's that time of year again. Thousands of Minnesotans begin implementing evacuation plans to temporarily relocate somewhere south and warm. Before embarking, many make a preemptive appointment in a tanning facility to ramp up their exposure to ultra violet (UV) rays in advance. This winter, however, traveling tanners will have to look harder for a place to catch some rays up north. Small salons burned in what industry calls “classic example of how not to write tax policy”

It's that time of year again. Thousands of Minnesotans begin implementing evacuation plans to temporarily relocate somewhere south and warm. Before embarking, many make a preemptive appointment in a tanning facility to ramp up their exposure to ultra violet (UV) rays in advance. This winter, however, traveling tanners will have to look harder for a place to catch some rays up north.

Fourteen percent of indoor tanning facilities in Minnesota have gone out of business since 2009, according to the Indoor Tanning Association (ITA). The number of professional indoor tanning salons registered with ITA in Minnesota has plummeted from 477 to 419 in less than two years.

In the industry’s view, it’s no coincidence the store closures and layoffs came so soon after the federal government targeted tanning salons for tax hikes.

“Once again we have our government trying to control our behavior,” said John Overstreet of the Indoor Tanning Association. “You can’t just pick out an industry because someone views them some way and try to tax them into submission. That’s just crazy.”

While the economic downturn has undercut consumers’ discretionary spending, the industry places more blame on the ten percent excise tax imposed as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The one—two punch of the untimely health care act tax and sour economy wiped out 16 percent of tanning parlors nationwide--a loss of 3,100 businesses and 24,000 jobs. Three-quarters of tanning operations are owned by women the industry reports, three times the national average for other businesses.

“Basic economics tells you that you can’t tack ten percent on your prices without affecting demand. They’ve seen people cancel their packages, it’s definitely impacted demand and the number of customers and profitability of these businesses,” Overstreet told FFM.

The tanning tax took effect in July 2010, the first tax imposed under the Obama administration’s health care reform legislation with 81 new IRS agents to enforce it. Congress estimated the excise tax on the estimated 25,000 professional tanning salons in business back then would generate $2.7 billion in revenue over ten years. The tax has raised about $37 million in the first half of the current fiscal year, putting it on course to generate less than half the $200 million in revenue projected by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation for the first full year of collections.

A recent Inspector General for Tax Administration report chastises the IRS for sending out tax notices nine months after tanning salons were supposed to start collecting the tax. The report also notes that the tax collection agency cannot identify or track down thousands of tanning businesses, concluding that the “number of taxpayers filing tanning services excise tax returns is much lower than expected.” No one knows how many of the estimated 30,000 additional businesses that offer tanning as well as other services (nail salons and beauty shops for example) may also be liable for the tax.

“They have no idea of who these businesses are and how to reach them. We don’t even know,” Overstreet said. “This is not a criticism of the IRS. They’re just not set up for this. It isn’t what they do.”

At an October IRS hearing, tanning salon owners said the excise tax ultimately comes out of their pockets, rather than customers’. “We’re on a course where half of our industry will be gone in the next couple years. That’s how devastating this tax is to us,” said Barton Bonn, a Nebraska chain tanning salon owner.

A loophole also exempts a whole segment of the industry and a major competitor to full-time tanning stores from complying with the tax. Gyms and health clubs got a pass from paying for their indoor tanning services due to the apparent difficulty of breaking down the cost included in membership fees. At the same time, tanning operators were left to decipherthousands of words in the Federal Register defining their obligations and requirements.

“It’s hurting business, it’s killing jobs and what the government doesn’t seem to realize with a tax like this is that when owners are making less money, they’re paying less corporate or personal taxes,” Overstreet said. “The fallacy was this would somehow increase tax revenue. So it’s a disaster all around.”

About 2,500 Minnesotans are employed at indoor tanning facilities, which attract more than 325,000 customers, according to industry statistics.

There may be some UV rays, however, at the end of the tanning booth. A bill has been introduced in the US House of Representatives to repeal the tanning tax has attracted 41 co-sponsors so far.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/tis-the-season-but-tanning-tax-takes-a-toll-as-dozens-of-minnesota-salons-foldChildcare Providers Assn. Asks Dayton to Retract and Revise Executive Order for Union Votehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/childcare-providers-assn-asks-dayton-to-retract-and-revise-executive-order-for-union-voteMon, 21 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminThe Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association (MLFCCA) sent the following letter to Governor Dayton on November 18, 2011. While MLFCCA is neutral on the issue of union representation for licensed family child care providers, the association called on Dayton to retract and revise his executive order to include all 11,000 providers. ]]>The Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association (MLFCCA) sent the following letter to Governor Dayton on November 18, 2011. While MLFCCA is neutral on the issue of union representation for licensed family child care providers, the association called on Dayton to retract and revise his executive order to include all 11,000 providers. The Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association (MLFCCA) sent the following letter to Governor Dayton on November 18, 2011. While MLFCCA is neutral on the issue of union representation for licensed family child care providers, the association called on Dayton to retract and revise his executive order to include all 11,000 providers.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/childcare-providers-assn-asks-dayton-to-retract-and-revise-executive-order-for-union-voteSubsidy on Brainerd Airport Radar Screen as Delta Prepares Departurehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/subsidy-on-brainerd-airport-radar-screen-as-delta-prepares-departure1Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMTTom Steward
Since Delta announced the end of flights to Brainerd, the future of the north centralMinnesota airport has remained in a holding pattern. One thing, however, appears all but certain. Taxpayers will begin subsidizing flights there, even as an air service waiting in the wings claims it could provide passenger service at no cost to taxpayers.]]>
Since Delta announced the end of flights to Brainerd, the future of the north centralMinnesota airport has remained in a holding pattern. One thing, however, appears all but certain. Taxpayers will begin subsidizing flights there, even as an air service waiting in the wings claims it could provide passenger service at no cost to taxpayers.

Since Delta announced the end of flights to Brainerd, the future of the north central Minnesota airport has remained in a holding pattern. One thing, however, appears all but certain. Taxpayers will begin subsidizing flights there, even as an air service waiting in the wings claims it could provide passenger service at no cost to taxpayers.

“My whole model is based on no subsidy, a basically different airline concept. You get paid at the end of the day from your wallets,” said Robert Powell, Sr., owner of Anoka-based Airmax Airlines in a recent conversation. “The market is there and it’s established. All you have to do is provide the service and the customers are there. It’s not like it’s a new service to Waxahachie.”

Airmax may be a long shot for now. While a 40-year veteran of the charter flight business, Powell would need to procure the planes to make it happen. His plan also hinges on not having to compete with a government subsidized carrier in the market. Still, it’s a sign of the times that Brainerd airport officials are keeping the door open, even a crack.

“We certainly aren’t saying no to anyone else. They (Airmax) were even talking about using a different hub, maybe Brainerd to Chicago. We’re very interested in all that,” said Beth Pfingsten, chairman of the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport commission.

The two daily Delta flights averaged about 53 percent capacity and were not subsidized. Delta’s departure, however, opens the gate for Brainerd to join the list of 140 small airports subsidized under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program.

“Now that the government is broke, they’ve had another round of EAS bids for these routes and right now they’re offering $800,000 to subsidize service into Brainerd. It doesn’t make sense,” Powell said.

Before Delta takes off for good, the feds require another regional carrier service to be in place. Great Lakes Airlines submitted the only official bid for the route, reportedly factoring in the federal subsidy as part of the deal. In 2010, Great Lakes Airlines’ parent company collected about $60 million in EAS payments on its routes, according to Aviation Week. The Wyoming-based carrier did not respond to FFM’s inquiries.

Yet the 1970’s vintage federal ESA program may be bracing for a crash landing in the current Congress, even potential elimination. Funding for the $200 million a year freebie runs out again in January, as Congress continues to work toward agreement on the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization and reform.

While relying on the federal subsidy may buy Brainerd time, it could be a temporary fix that effectively postpones the inevitable—identifying a sustainable solution.

“How long is this EAS subsidy going to be around? They’re looking at it going away. Where are we going to be in 3 years, 5 years and we have a carrier that can’t make it? Will these small carriers pull out because they can‘t make a buck without the subsidy? That’s a concern I have,” Pfingsten said.

All this uncertainty comes as the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport wraps up a $7.4 million renovation, largely with federal funding. The remodeling will be completed about the time Congress may be deciding on the federal subsidy that could ultimately make or break air service to Brainerd. Despite the questions swirling over future services, airport officials stand by the terminal upgrade.

“I’m a pretty fiscally conservative person. I’m not the kind of person that just because the money is available that I’d say just because it’s there, it’s free, that’s not my philosophy or those on the commission either,” Phingsten said. “We take pride in that and it was time to do a renovation of the main terminal. Had we known Delta was pulling out, I don’t know what the commission would have done at that point.”

Brainerd passengers will face another unanticipated twist to the ground plan here. It turns out the new jet bridge that’s part of the renovation works with Delta’s planes, but not Great Lakes’ fleet. Passengers will still be braving the outside elements to board their flight. With the onset of the EAS subsidy, taxpayers will also be left out in the cold—year around.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/subsidy-on-brainerd-airport-radar-screen-as-delta-prepares-departure1Governor Dayton Pulls Trigger on Controversial Providers Unionhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/governor-dayton-pulls-trigger-on-controversial-providers-unionTue, 15 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminNow that Governor Dayton has ordered a union vote, childcare providers who oppose it expressed concern over the fairness of the process and the potential for undue union influence in carrying out the election.While the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) will oversee the union election, Dayton’s executive order allows the state to in effect outsource the job to an outside group paid for by the unions.]]>Now that Governor Dayton has ordered a union vote, childcare providers who oppose it expressed concern over the fairness of the process and the potential for undue union influence in carrying out the election.While the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) will oversee the union election, Dayton’s executive order allows the state to in effect outsource the job to an outside group paid for by the unions.Providers fear bringing in outside firm to conduct vote could compromise fair process

Now that Governor Dayton has ordered a union vote, childcare providers who oppose it expressed concern over the fairness of the process and the potential for undue union influence in carrying out the election.

While the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) will oversee the union election, Dayton’s executive order allows the state to in effect outsource the job to an outside group paid for by the unions. The business will be going to the Minneapolis regional office of a company that’s held several childcare union elections in other states.

BMS may “designate the American Arbitration Association, subject to his oversight, to conduct all proceedings related to the elections in the appropriate units, in a fair and transparent manner,” according to Dayton’s executive order.

The document also directs any costs incurred in carrying out the balloting be paid for by AFSCME Council 5 and SEIU, the two unions organizing the prospective bargaining units. Childcare providers fighting the organizing drive fear there will be little or no firewall against outside union influence over the process.

“The union is going to get to have a say on what’s on the ballots and they’re going to have a say on how the cards are counted,” said Jennifer Parrish, a Rochester childcare provider. “If this is truly an independent election, the unions should have nothing to do with it. We don’t know if they’re going to but when they’re paying for it, who is the American Arbitration Association going to listen to?”

On its website, the American Arbitration Association (AAA) vigorously defends its impartial approach, providing a detailed menu of election procedures online. “We’re a neutral company, that’s what we’re based on being a neutral organization,” said Jeff Zaino, AAA vice president labor, employment and elections. “We deal with both labor and management and they trust us with their arbitration cases and elections.”

AAA holds about 300 elections per year, including all of the high profile local teacher union recertification votes currently underway in Wisconsin.

“We do more union elections but we do associations, corporations, these type of votes,” said Jeff Zaino, vice president for AAA’s labor, employment and elections division. “We follow the US Department of Labor standards and the whole process is transparent. Any observer that wants to can observe any step of the process, from mailing the ballots to opening them up and tabulating them.”

A national expert with a legal aid foundation monitoring the union drive said turning to an outside group for validation is a common tactic.

“They’re like rent-a-judges, it’s a certification group,” said Bill Messenger, an attorney with the National Right to Work Foundation. “The unions and states use them to try to give some sort of pretext of legitimacy. The notion that the government is going to force childcare providers to support a participatory organization based on a vote turns the first amendment on its head. The vote doesn’t’ make it any more legitimate.”

In 2011, two states have rescinded childcare provider unions, Wisconsin and Michigan. In addition, Governor Jerry Brown recently vetoed a bill that would have unionized childcare providers in California.

###

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has been tracking the controversial childcare union story every step of the way. To see how Minnesota got to this point and to better understand the potential implications of the union effort, FFM has posted several stories and key documents below.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/governor-dayton-pulls-trigger-on-controversial-providers-unionSOURCES: Governor Dayton Close to Ordering Child Care Union Votehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/sources-governor-dayton-close-to-ordering-child-care-union-voteFri, 11 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminGovernor Mark Dayton is on the verge of issuing an executive order calling for a vote on the controversial plan to establish a home childcare union, according to providers who met with the governor Thursday evening. The long-awaited meeting between Dayton and providers who oppose unionization took place at the Capitol, and also included the Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs as well as the director of the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association.]]>Governor Mark Dayton is on the verge of issuing an executive order calling for a vote on the controversial plan to establish a home childcare union, according to providers who met with the governor Thursday evening. The long-awaited meeting between Dayton and providers who oppose unionization took place at the Capitol, and also included the Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs as well as the director of the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association.Governor Mark Dayton is on the verge of issuing an executive order calling for a vote on the controversial plan to establish a home childcare union, according to providers who met with the governor Thursday evening. The long-awaited meeting between Dayton and providers who oppose unionization took place at the Capitol, and also included the Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs as well as the director of the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association.

“We’re frustrated and saddened that the governor appears to have made his decision before we even got there. We were hoping to speak to him before that decision was made because we truly believe this decision should not be made without speaking to some of the many providers that are opposed to this,” said Jennifer Parrish, a Rochester provider who’s led the opposition to unionization.

Katie Tinucci, Dayton’s Press Secretary, confirmed that a meeting took place Thursday night between Dayton and the providers, but said she “cannot confirm anything that was said--I did not attend. My understanding was that the meeting took place at the request of the providers, and the governor was there to listen to their concerns.”

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have asked Dayton to use his executive powers to assist their drive to organize the self-employed child care providers into bargaining units.

Parrish said Dayton indicated his intention to order a union vote that would include the 25 percent of providers who care for children who receive state subsidies. In the meeting, the providers stressed their concerns that the bargaining unit would affect all of the 11,000 licensed childcare providers, not just those receiving state subsidies. The providers fear that the scope of issues covered by the union bargaining unit will affect the thousands of other non-union providers, as well.

“We were upset that he plans to proceed with a vote that will make 75 percent of providers in the state ineligible to vote even though the union’s bargaining will affect all providers,” Parrish said.

The Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services would likely oversee the election, though there’s discussion of an outside firm actually conducting the balloting. The election is expected to take approximately three weeks and be completed by the end of the year.

The providers presented Dayton with new data demonstrating that childcare votes in other states have been seriously flawed.

“Just a small percentage of those who got ballots were actually licensed providers in the election in Illinois and the same in Michigan. The rest were unlicensed family, friends and neighbors,” Parrish said.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/sources-governor-dayton-close-to-ordering-child-care-union-voteNorthern Lights Express: On Track or Going Nowhere Fast?http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/northern-lights-express-on-track-or-going-nowhere-fastMon, 07 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminFrom the looks of the slick taxpayer-funded website, you’d think it’s full speed ahead for the Northern Lights Express (NLX), the proposed passenger rail line from the Twin Cities to Duluth. As one of six passenger rail lines for Minnesota, an air of inevitability often seems to surround the controversial line estimated to cost between $650 million and one billion dollars. Yet the route to Duluth runs through Washington with a Congress at a crossroads and ready to derail such projects.

]]>From the looks of the slick taxpayer-funded website, you’d think it’s full speed ahead for the Northern Lights Express (NLX), the proposed passenger rail line from the Twin Cities to Duluth. As one of six passenger rail lines for Minnesota, an air of inevitability often seems to surround the controversial line estimated to cost between $650 million and one billion dollars. Yet the route to Duluth runs through Washington with a Congress at a crossroads and ready to derail such projects.
State and local officials are all systems go even as Congress defunds “high speed” rail

From the looks of the slick taxpayer-funded website, you’d think it’s full speed ahead for the Northern Lights Express (NLX), the proposed passenger rail line from the Twin Cities to Duluth. As one of six passenger rail lines for Minnesota, an air of inevitability often seems to surround the controversial line estimated to cost between $650 million and one billion dollars. Yet the route to Duluth runs through Washington with a Congress at a crossroads and an inclination toward derailing high-speed rail projects.

The 155 mile rail route is apparently “igniting imaginations around Minnesota and the nation,” according to the website. The upbeat storyline states that NLX will spur $2 billion in economic development. Indeed, they project anywhere from 400,000-800,000 plus passengers a year might get on board. The website also claims the project would “encourage” 13,800 jobs, an evidently new metric of employment growth.

Nothing seemingly slows NLX down. Not even a controversial 2010 “Benefit Cost Analysis” draft reportthat concluded the “Twin Cities-Duluth HSR (High Speed Rail) Corridor has a low benefit-cost ratio.” Taxpayers would realize a return of just 27-35 cents in benefits for every government dollar spent on NLX, according to the study.

Upon release of the cost-benefit report, even supporters began writing the line’s obituary. State officials, however, rejected the draft report “on the basis of conflicting consultant advice and modeling concerning the cost and benefits of NLX,” said Dave Christianson, MnDOT’s rail director. Interestingly, the report was scrubbed from the MnDOT website .

A subsequent MnDOT report estimates NLX could require an operating subsidy as high as $37-$83 per passenger to meet the line’s $35-45 million annual operating and maintenance costs. Under that scenario, taxpayers would underwrite 66-79 percent of the cost of every ride.

NLX officials disputed many of this report’s assumptions and conclusions, as well. They produced a “functional analysis” showing NLX would break even by 2023 and eventually become profitable.

The Federal Rail Administration (FRA) recently approved the final NLX route, clearing the way to start spending $8 million in planning grants next year. “The approval of the preferred route for this project is another step toward improving travel for Minnesotans and laying the groundwork to address our state’s transportation needs in the future,” according to Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Just last week, a coalition of elected local officials from six counties, two cities and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, signed an agreement giving MnDOT most of the responsibility for implementing the NLX plan. In all, some $13 million in funding has been committed to the project, according to MnDOT.

Yet it’s far from all systems go—not only for NLX, but for “high speed” rail projects nationwide. Whether NLX stays on track depends upon receiving up to 80 percent of capital costs from the federal government.

While the Obama Administration continues to request billions for rail funding, Congress has pulled the equivalent of the taxpayer’s emergency stop cord, which may signal the end of the line for NLX.

Eighth District Congressman Chip Cravaack, who represents the area covering most of the NLX route, opposes the project. “The wisest course of action for us is to not spend money on a venture that can't pay for itself. Instead, we must first attend to the crumbling roads, the bridges in urgent need of repair and the incomplete highway projects that we have throughout the state,” Cravaack wrote in a Star Tribune op-ed.

NLX Alliance Chairman Steve Raukar fired back in an op-ed of his own, faulting Cravaack for not supporting the transit project. In a letter to the congressman, Raukar pleaded with Cravaack to “request NLX be authorized for federal rail capital funds in the success to SAFTEA-LU” insisting such designation does not constitute “an earmark”.

Yet the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has zeroed out “high speed” rail funding in their annual appropriations bill. Meantime, the Democratic-run Senate Appropriations Committeealso zeroed out “high speed” rail, adding just $100 million in an amendment that may or may not survive conference committee negotiations with the House.

However, some previously appropriated rail funds remain in the federal pipeline. Sources say NLX advocates also hold out hope of being designated as a possible federal demonstration rail project.

“The reduction in HSR appropriations won’t have an immediate impact on NLX, until next phase of development is reached, about 2013-14,” Christianson said in an email. “Of course, it doesn’t bode well for investment in a high speed rail network anywhere in the U.S.”

Otherwise, it may be up to individual states to fund the building of “high speed” rail service. NLX proponents say they still hope to receive $13 million of MnDOT’s rail request being readied for a potential 2012 state bonding bill.

The Northstar Amtrak line that previously ran on the same route as NLX shut down on Easter Day, 1985 due to lack of ridership. It remains to be seen whether that failed Amtrak route will be resurrected or not.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/northern-lights-express-on-track-or-going-nowhere-fastElection Day referendums in Minnesotahttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/election-day-referendums-in-minnesotaFri, 04 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminA collection of the school district referenda in Minnesota that voters will see on the ballot for 11/8/11. ]]>A collection of the school district referenda in Minnesota that voters will see on the ballot for 11/8/11.

On Tuesday, approximately one-third of Minnesota school districts will be holding a referendum for a new operating levy. While some districts will be asking to renew expiring levies, many are seeking increased funding. The most recent K-12 education budget passed by the Minnesota Legislature increased state funding to school districts by about $700 million, including a $50 increase to the per-pupil formula.

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has compiled information on the various referenda from school districts across the state. The data includes enrollment trends, district revenue, levy facts and figures, and the actual ballot language voters will see on November 8.

MN Operating Referenda Requests for 11/8/11
]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/election-day-referendums-in-minnesotaLeaked Memo Adds Fuel to Concerns Over Child Care Union Debatehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/leaked-memo-adds-fuel-to-concerns-over-child-care-union-debateWed, 02 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminST. PAUL, MN—The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has obtained a memo distributed to DFL members of the Minnesota House of Representatives that provides a rare behind-the-scenes view of DFL strategy on one of the most divisive issues facing the state—whether and how to unionize Minnesota’s 11,000 in-home licensed childcare providers. ]]>ST. PAUL, MN—The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has obtained a memo distributed to DFL members of the Minnesota House of Representatives that provides a rare behind-the-scenes view of DFL strategy on one of the most divisive issues facing the state—whether and how to unionize Minnesota’s 11,000 in-home licensed childcare providers. ST. PAUL, MN—The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has obtained a memo distributed to DFL members of the Minnesota House of Representatives that provides a rare behind-the-scenes view of DFL strategy on one of the most divisive issues facing the state—whether and how to unionize Minnesota’s 11,000 in-home licensed childcare providers.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have asked Governor Dayton to use his executive powers to assist their drive to organize the independent child care providers into bargaining units.

The document, however, indicates there are numerous questions on the legality of this proposed unionization and the DFL author of the memo expresses wariness over a potential public relations minefield. “These unanswered questions should not necessarily foreclose the possibility of a union, but they will have to be answered before a union of child care providers is up-and-running.”

The memo highlights several controversial policy options. The document:

Concedes that Minnesota law does not provide a clear basis for unionizing independent contractors such as childcare providers;

Acknowledges the possibility of forcing non-union members to pay fair-share fees;

Raises the possibility of compensating labor unions directly with state funding intended to subsidize low-income childcare.

DFL strategists clearly see a need to get the volatile issue under control, noting that union representatives have admitted “they ‘screwed up’ by allowing opponents to frame the issue”.

The document states that “existing Minnesota (and federal) law relating to labor unions…would not apply to a “union” of child care providers. Such a union would largely be venturing into unchartered (sic) territory.”

Governor Dayton may lack authority to issue an executive order for the Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) to hold a union election, according to the analysis. It states that “proponents might have a point as the chapters of law dealing with BMS are generally restricted to the employee-employer environment.”

A concern over declining union membership and the need to target a new segment of the private sector workforce—independent contractors—also surfaces as a concern. “Representatives from AFSCME and SEIU emphasize that organizing independent contractors for collective bargaining may become commonplace in the future. With the decline of the traditional union workplace, a union of independent contractors might become a new kind of organizing for a new economy.”

It also leaves on the table the possibility of “many providers throughout the state being forced to pay union membership dues (or fair share dues) even if they do not belong to a union or support unionization.”

Under one scenario presented union dues could come directly from taxpayer subsidies for low-income children, an approach taken in other states. “If the biggest contribution of unions is increasing the CCAP subsidy, this approach might make sense. Federal law, however, prohibits any federal money for child care subsidies being used for things like union dues.”

In a section labeled “political fallout”, the memo candidly says “proponents of unionization, Governor Dayton and DFLers have already experienced a great deal of pushback from the media and the public on this issue. To a large degree, much of this is because Republicans have been effective at framing (or misframing) the issue.” Regardless of their strategy, “DFLers will at least want to reframe the issue and clear up the misperceptions.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/leaked-memo-adds-fuel-to-concerns-over-child-care-union-debateCivil Liberties Group Defends Property Rights of Winona Man in Afghanistanhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/civil-liberties-group-defends-property-rights-of-winona-man-in-afghanistanTue, 25 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminThe Minnesota chapter of a national civil liberties legal group is going to court Tuesday to fight for the property rights of a Winona man who’s got other battles on his hands: he’s currently serving as a U.S. advisor in war-torn Afghanistan. ]]>The Minnesota chapter of a national civil liberties legal group is going to court Tuesday to fight for the property rights of a Winona man who’s got other battles on his hands: he’s currently serving as a U.S. advisor in war-torn Afghanistan. “All eyes of property rights advocates will be on Minnesota with this case”

The Minnesota chapter of a national civil liberties legal group is going to court Tuesday to fight for the property rights of a Winona man who’s got other battles on his hands: he’s currently serving as a U.S. advisor in war-torn Afghanistan.

The Institute for Justice (IJ) on Tuesday will ask a Minnesota District Court in Winona to strike down a city ordinance prohibiting Ethan Dean, now on his fifth tour of duty in the Mideast, and three other homeowners from renting out their property.

“This is a law that started in Winona and has spread to other cities in Minnesota and what we need to do is stop this trend before it goes any further,” said Anthony Sanders, staff attorney with IJ’s Minnesota chapter. “The right to rent out your home is a fundamental property right, a traditional and accepted use of your property and Winona is trampling on that.”

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota reported earlier this year on Dean’s campaign on the home front against the controversial Winona ordinance known locally as the “30 percent rule.

Dean says the ordinance is a double whammy. By restricting rental properties to only 30 percent of houses per block, it deprives homeowners of rental income. Without a rental permit, houses are also less appealing to prospective buyers. Dean says the ordinance has cost him more than one opportunity to sell his $139,000 house, located in a prime rental area in this college town.

“I don't really understand how someone believes they have the right to tell someone else how and what they can do with their home, but it is a strange world at times, I guess,” Dean told FFM at the time.

City officials view the measure as a way to preserve the single family character of city neighborhoods particularly near Winona State University by regulating the number of houses rented mainly to college students. Complaints over student parties, vandalism and absentee landlords led to the imposition of the ordinance in 2005.

“It’s not ideal, but it’s working right now and it’s helping to address our problem of density of rental properties around the downtown core area and Winona State,” city council member Debbie White told FFM earlier this year. “We’ve been losing residences and homes and trying to keep a balance in our neighborhoods.”

According to the Winona Housing Association, investment and management of certified rental property is the city’s largest private industry, involving more than 900 individuals and families. The Institute for Justice estimates the rental ban affects hundreds more Winona homeowners.

Seven of the nine properties on Ethan Dean’s block were grandfathered in when the ordinance took effect. Until he put his house up for sale, however, Dean said he had never heard of the ordinance. Concerned about paying his mortgage while stationed overseas, Dean rented it out to three students in violation of the ordinance. After learning Dean was working with U.S. troops abroad, the city granted him a waiver for a permit that will expire next spring. Another homeowner who’s involved in the lawsuit also has a temporary rental permit. Both say they face probable foreclosure under the city’s rental ban.

The Institute of Justice legal team is asking that the ordinance be declared an illegal use of the city’s zoning power and unconstitutional under the Minnesota constitution. Attorneys filing the case say it may have implications nationally because it addresses the fundamental constitutional issue of whether government may reign in some citizens’ property rights but not others.

“Rental restrictions of various kinds are common across the country and have become more and more common. But Minnesota is ground zero in this trend of completely taking away people’s right to rent out their homes. All eyes of policy makers and property rights advocates will be on Minnesota with this case,” said Sanders.

The Institute for Justice describes itself as “the nation's only libertarian public interest law firm, we engage in cutting-edge litigation and advocacy both in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion on behalf of individuals whose most basic rights are denied by the government--like the right to earn an honest living, private property rights, and the right to free speech, especially in the areas of commercial and Internet speech.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/civil-liberties-group-defends-property-rights-of-winona-man-in-afghanistanOn a Wing and Taxpayers Updatehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/on-a-wing-and-taxpayers-updateMon, 24 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminSt. Cloud Airport Gets One of First and Last Grants Under FAA Subsidy Program Set to End
The St. Cloud Regional Airport is banking on a recently announced $750,000 federal grant to land an airline at the airport that’s been virtually deserted since Delta terminated service in and out of St. Cloud in late 2009.]]>St. Cloud Airport Gets One of First and Last Grants Under FAA Subsidy Program Set to End
The St. Cloud Regional Airport is banking on a recently announced $750,000 federal grant to land an airline at the airport that’s been virtually deserted since Delta terminated service in and out of St. Cloud in late 2009.St. Cloud Airport Gets One of First and Last Grants Under FAA Subsidy Program Set to End

The St. Cloud Regional Airport is banking on a recently announced $750,000 federal grant to land an airline at the airport that’s been virtually deserted since Delta terminated service in and out of St. Cloud in late 2009.

Despite a $5 million makeover of the terminal two years ago, St. Cloud’s airport has mostly sat idle, as the city desperately seeks new commercial airline partners. St. Cloud received $750,000 in federal stimulus funding to assist with a portion of the renovation, but the project has thus far amounted to a passenger boarding bridge to nowhere.

The latest federal subsidy comes under the little known Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP), which provides temporary help to small airports to attract and maintain local air service through marketing and revenue guarantees. St. Cloud officials said the taxpayer gift would go a long way toward courting a new carrier, mostly by offsetting the financial risks involved with getting new service off the ground. In other words, the federal government is subsidizing the airport so the airport can subsidize the airlines.

“One hundred percent of it will go towards what we call a minimum revenue guarantee. It’s really putting a pot of money somewhere set aside that in the event that airline loses money or has some start up costs or whatever it might be that they’re able to pull from that and make themselves whole,” airport director Bill Towle told the St. Cloud Times.

While increasing St. Cloud’s chances of attracting air service, analysis by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota suggests the program fails to deliver for communities more often than not. In fact, a federal audit found that half of SCASDP grants failed to meet their objectives or failed to continue to provide air service capable of competing in the marketplace after the subsidies dried up.

Federal auditors have consistently raised questions about the overall lack of effectiveness of the $20 million per year FAA program. An Office of Inspector General 2008 audit revealed that just 30 percent of subsidy recipients were successful in achieving and sustaining their desired results for at least one year. The 40-page reportconcluded that “70 percent of the grants in our review failed to fully achieve their objectives. Specifically, 50 percent of the grants were unable to achieve any of their articulated grant objectives or were unable to sustain grant benefits beyond the grant horizon.”

Yet St. Cloud’s bid appears to align well with the audit’s recommendations for maximizing the possibility of success. Airports that woo new air service tend to fare better than airports that attempt to improve an existing air service, according to the audit. Other important variables include offering revenue guarantees, marketing support and high level community involvement. While there are no guarantees, St. Cloud’s strategy includes all of those key elements, including raising additional financial support from the community.

Nevertheless, the decade-old program has been excluded from the FAA Reauthorization bill working through Congress. The subsidy is destined to become a rare example of a Washington program that both sides of the aisle agree does not work, according to House Transportation and Aviation Committee staff in Washington.

In the end, St. Cloud will have secured one of the program’s first and last taxpayer gifts from the SCASDP. FAA records indicate that a $1,000,000 grant was awarded jointly in 2002 to Brainerd/St. Cloud airports during the first round of SCASDP funding. The records do not specify exactly how the subsidy was used to pursue the program’s mission of supporting and sustaining long-term air passenger service after federal funding runs out. A 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that $250,000 of the first grant was reimbursed to the federal government. Neither federal DOT nor Brainerd and St. Cloud airport officials responded to FFM’s requests for information.

In fact, three more Minnesota airports received subsidies during the program’s decade-long existence: Duluth in 2003 ($1 million), Hibbing in 2005 ($485,000) and Marshall in 2005 ($480,000). The Hibbing Airport even received special designation in 2005 under SCASDP as an Air Service Development Zone. GAO investigators, however, could not even determine what qualified an airport for Air Service Development Zone status or any actual benefits tied to the designation. One official from an unspecified airport told the GAO that “positive local publicity for the airport” was the only effect they could report in connection with the designation. As for Minnesota’s five recipients of SCASDP grants, only Duluth currently offers non-subsidized passenger airline service. Marshall and St. Cloud do not have regular passenger air service, while Delta has tentatively announced plans to drop its subsidized flights to Hibbing and Brainerd.

A crowd estimated to be about 250 protesters turned out last Friday at the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis for the “Occupy MN” rally. It was a Minnesota version of the Occupy Wall Street press event in New York City.

Though billed as a non-violent protest against big banks, big companies, and big everything (except government), a handful of signs appeared anything but non-violent with slogans such as "off with their heads" and "eat the rich."

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) was at the newly designated "People's Plaza" to file an Accountability Alert Video: Pre-Occupy MN.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/video-pre-occupy-mnCity Report Shows Highly Touted Monticello Fiber-Optic Network Facing Financial Challengeshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/city-report-shows-highly-touted-monticello-fiber-optic-network-facing-financial-challengesMon, 26 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminWhen a local government broadband proposal runs into controversy almost anywhere in Minnesota, proponents inevitably point skeptics to what’s become their go-to success story: FiberNet Monticello. But has it been all it was cracked up to be?]]>When a local government broadband proposal runs into controversy almost anywhere in Minnesota, proponents inevitably point skeptics to what’s become their go-to success story: FiberNet Monticello. But has it been all it was cracked up to be?Cash flow and customer shortage was Exhibit A in recent TonkaConnect decision

When a local government broadband proposal runs into controversy almost anywhere in Minnesota, proponents inevitably point skeptics to what’s become their go-to success story: FiberNet Monticello.

Admirers of that $26 million municipal broadband system that won overwhelming approval in a city referendum were lining up to give a friendly quip or quote before FiberNet was even up and running in 2010.

“Communities who are interested in pursuing municipally-directed network might make talking to Monticello one of their first steps,”wrote Ann Treacy of Blandin Foundation.

“I wish more people knew about this,” said Senator Al Franken. “And I will take this around the state with me and back to Washington, D.C. Because people can learn from Monticello’s experience.”

“Buoyed by the success of Monticello and similar projects across the country, more communities are recognizing the need to build their own broadband infrastructure,” said Christopher Mitchell, a broadband activist with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

FiberNet bills itself as the fastest broadband available bundled with telecom and video services at a more competitive price than offered by private providers. So it was no surprise that Monticello surfaced again in the heated debate over whether to move forward with the proposed $81 million TonkaConnect fiber optic network in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities. For the first time, however, Monticello was singled out for different reasons than usual.

“Governmental bodies typically do not fare well in the competitive marketplace,” said Tom Fletcher, treasurer for the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission (LMCC). “Monticello may already be finding this out.”

At a decisive August 16th meeting over TonkaConnect’s future, FiberNet’s financial status was “Exhibit A” for the potential perils of government getting into the highly competitive telecom business. The discussion centered on recent financial filings indicating that FiberNet Monticello is incurring a greater than anticipated loss of nearly $250,000 a month, due to lower than projected revenues.

In the end, TonkaConnect was suspended by a unanimous vote. “I’m hoping Monticello will be successful, I hope this will work out for them,” said Fletcher at the public meeting. “This is not brought out to knock Monticello, but I would note the dangers in these things.”

The financial details surrounding FiberNet Monticello came from the city’s June 30th quarterly report, which serves as an important benchmark for evaluating the network’s performance in the marketplace to date. As a start-up, FiberNet Monticello was projected to operate at a temporary loss while building up a customer base. Yet the report flagged the sizable subsidy FiberNet is receiving from other enterprise funds, namely the city's liquor store profits—a quarter million dollars per month.

“FiberNet will continue to have a negative cash flow and place a larger burden on other City funds to support the operations. This too will require staff to monitor the FiberNet fund activity through the rest of the year,” according to the report.

City officials acknowledge FiberNet lags in projected cash flow and number of subscribers, forcing the city to draw down escrow accounts to make bond payments for the system. City leaders assign much of the fault for the negative cash flow to now settled litigation involving private provider TDS that set back construction of the network for a year.

“The actions resulting from that lawsuit really put us in a hole and we’re emerging from that hole with an aggressive plan,” said Jeff O’Neill, Monticello city administrator. “We’re continuing to have an upward climb with our subscribers and take rates but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

Even after adjusting for FiberNet’s later than expected rollout, the network has much ground to make up (see prospectus for revenue bonds). The following table shows how many subscribers FiberNet was projected to have at the end of 2010 compared to the number customers signed up for service through June 30, 2011. Of particular concern is the dramatic lack of land line phone customers, a vital source of revenue.

“The jury is out when it boils down to whether FiberNet makes it from a business perspective and cash flow,” O’Neill said. “We hold out that hope that eventually we will get to that point. But we’re not jumping up and down and saying everything is like sliced bread.”

In June, the network reported spending about $400,000, while collecting about $150,000 in subscriber revenue. At that rate over the course of a full year, FiberNet Monticello would generate about half of the $3.8 million in annual revenue budgeted for this stage of development (2010 projections). Nevertheless, city officials say subscribers are increasing as they finish building out the system, leading to optimism about Fibernet’s long term future.

“FiberNet has shown if it can keep growing at the current rate it will start to cash flow end of next year or early 2013,” said Tom Kelly, Monticello city finance director. “Right now we’re proposing using our liquor store operations which should have about $3.5 million in it to use until FiberNet starts cash flowing and then pay back to the liquor fund.”

For more information on the factors likely to shape the outcome of FiberNet Monticello, see below summary provided by Jeff O'Neill, Monticello city administrator.

Success Indicators

Business Plan
o Subscriptions rates continue to climb
o Developing ability to serve apartments will positively impact subscription volume and rate
o High percentage of business electing to take service (for those not under contract)
o Businesses under contract indicating that they will take service when contract expires
o Additional revenue sources anticipated involving intergovernmental partnerships, co-location and wi-fi service not identified in original business plan

General Benefits
o Freedom of choice achieved with all three services successfully deployed
o Correction of market-place achieved ---25-35% drop in telecommunication costs saving many hundreds of thousands of dollars per year
o Savings available for other investment or spending within the community benefitting economic health of community
o Greatly improved productivity for business community
o Improved telecommunications ability for commuters
o Customer service level is good and accountability for action is in place. Few customer complaints coming through web access
o Local business office and associated personal service resonating within community
o Local programming and development of business conference call capabilities
o School District receiving 100 meg service at no cost – good for education!
o Enhancement of City communications and services through improved telecommunications

Challenges
o General reduction in use of land-lines reducing associated revenue
o General economic climate
o Cost of video content
o Lower than anticipated revenue from reinvestment of bond fund proceeds during construction period
o Delay created by lawsuit and resulting financial impact

Summary
The City has achieved many of the targets as requested by the business community and supported via citizen vote in 2007. Taken as a whole, the project has been successful in achieving a number of important community objectives as noted above. From a business plan standpoint there are indicators or trends both supporting and challenging the effort to reach a break-even point. It is our view that the positives outweigh the negatives in this regard and that the break-even point will be achieved in a timely fashion.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/city-report-shows-highly-touted-monticello-fiber-optic-network-facing-financial-challengesAnoka County Commissioners Buck Trend and Cut Spending and Taxeshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/anoka-county-commissioners-buck-trend-and-cut-spending-and-taxesMon, 19 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminThe Anoka County Board of Commissioners announced last week that their 2012 budget would include a reduction of property taxes of $8.14 million, marking a 7.43 percent decrease from the previous year and the first time in 30 years that spending for the next fiscal year will be less than the current budget projections. ]]>The Anoka County Board of Commissioners announced last week that their 2012 budget would include a reduction of property taxes of $8.14 million, marking a 7.43 percent decrease from the previous year and the first time in 30 years that spending for the next fiscal year will be less than the current budget projections. The Anoka County Board of Commissioners announced last week that their 2012 budget would include a reduction of property taxes of $8.14 million, marking a 7.43 percent decrease from the previous year and the first time in 30 years that spending for the next fiscal year will be less than the current budget projections.

Last week the Anoka County board passed a budget containing a $98,531,229 million net tax levy. The proposed spending reductions, contained in the draft 2012 county budget, will occur in spite of reductions in state aid and the elimination of the Market Value Home Credit (MVHC).

“This levy is a direct reflection of our community and our mission,” said Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Rhonda Sivarajah. “Our mission is to be respectful, innovative, and fiscally responsible, and we are accomplishing this by recognizing that our residents don’t deserve to be taxed any more, and frankly, they can’t take it.”

So how did they do it? Could other counties copy their template? For starters, it’s important to note that significant budget reduction did not happen overnight, but instead has been in the works for the past year.

“We were proactive. We knew it was going to be a difficult year and we expected to lose $7 million or more,” said Sivarajah. “We started early and gave staff the direction to make reductions that had the least impact on the constituents we serve.“

One of the measures employed by Sivarajah and Commissioners was alerting county staff in April that each department would need to reduce spending by three to four percent for the coming fiscal year. Additionally, staff was notified that reductions from the state would have to be absorbed within each department.

For the first time in recent memory, Sivarajah noted, the board turned to county employees for budget-saving suggestions.

“In past years at work sessions, staff would be directed to show cuts that would ‘show the pain.’ I think that is wrong and incredibly disingenuous,” said Sivarajah. “We asked staff how they could do things more efficiently in their own department.”

By May 1 the board already had millions of dollars in reductions in place for the current budget. The new figures reduced the 2011 budget by $3.8-3.9 million, allowing commissioners to carry that new baseline into the 2012 budget.

Moreover, the county was able to save employment costs through various means, including a one-time voluntary separation program that 97 employees utilized, that should save taxpayers $1.5 million in salary and benefits going forward. The 2011 budget already had 62 fewer positions than 2010, and an additional 20 slots are expected to remain unfunded and vacant in the 2012 budget.

Sivarajah noted that holding positions open has been more economical than turning to layoffs, reiterating that the board started making decisions to keep positions open as they were vacated. The county could also restructure or hire replacements at a lower pay rate to continue future savings.

Taxpayers will also find relief from a 65 percent reduction in the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority property tax levy, which is the lowest since 2002.

“Rather than sitting on reserves that belong to the taxpayers, we’re giving that back. Our 2012 levy is paying for our portion of the debt service on Northstar and the Northstar Link,” explained Sivarajah. “We’re using nearly $2 million in reserves to bring down the levy.”

Sivarajah said the response on the proposed budget has been positive, citing emails from constituents saying ‘thank you’ and messages saying the changes were ‘long overdue.’

“It shows our constituents in the county that elections do matter. It sends the right message.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/anoka-county-commissioners-buck-trend-and-cut-spending-and-taxesSurprising Setback: Dayton Says No to Executive Order for Daycare Provider Unionhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/surprising-setback-dayton-says-no-to-executive-order-for-daycare-provider-unionWed, 14 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardThe leading opponent of the drive to unionize Minnesota daycare providers didn’t even know she’d finally won a round in her five year-long battle until she was contacted for her reaction to the news. She was stunned to learn that Governor Mark Dayton had ruled out an executive order to unilaterally authorize statewide unionization of more than 11,000 licensed childcare providers in Minnesota.]]>The leading opponent of the drive to unionize Minnesota daycare providers didn’t even know she’d finally won a round in her five year-long battle until she was contacted for her reaction to the news. She was stunned to learn that Governor Mark Dayton had ruled out an executive order to unilaterally authorize statewide unionization of more than 11,000 licensed childcare providers in Minnesota.

House leaders' letter to governor says providers are private contractors, not public employees

ST.PAUL, MN--The leading opponent of the drive to unionize Minnesota daycare providers didn’t even know she’d finally won a round in her five year-long battle until she was contacted for her reaction to the news. She was stunned to learn that Governor Mark Dayton had ruled out an executive order to unilaterally authorize statewide unionization of more than 11,000 licensed childcare providers in Minnesota.

“I’m relieved and thankful that he has ruled this out,” said Jennifer Parrish, a daycare provider in Rochester. “I don’t believe, however, that the unions will go away after this. So we’re just waiting to see what their next move is after this.”

Dayton noted that though an executive order was used by other states, he is no longer considering that option. Instead, he told the media today that he’s leaning toward ordering a union election by secret ballot.

“If there is going to be a decision made, we’ve talked about …having an election that would be conducted by, for example, the Bureau of Mediation Services so it would be done fairly and responsibly and allows all the people who would be affected by that decision to have a say in it. I’m not going to dictate the outcome of that,” Dayton said.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) and House Majority Leader Matt Dean (R-Dellwood) delivered a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton today aimed at dissuading him from using an executive order to unionize daycare providers.
“Private, self-employed home-based childcare providers are independent contractors, not public employees nor employers of any single employer,” the letter read. “Unionization of these small businesses by executive order is clearly beyond the scope of the governor’s power.”
The impetus for unionization is childcare providers who receive state subsidies for children of low-income families. In other states with childcare provider unions, dues are collected from state subsidy payments. It’s unclear whether non-subsidized providers, who say they account for the vast majority of Minnesota’s daycare workers, would have to pay fair share fees.
The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota first revealed concerns raised by some anti-union childcare providers who said they were misled by some organizers collecting signatures on cards used to support a union. In a recent meeting with Dayton administration officials, union opponents reiterated those allegations. An influential statewide daycare provider organization that is neutral on the issue of unionization raised similar concerns on the process at that meeting.
“This is a big first step in bringing transparency to a very controversial process that will affect the bottom line of thousands of small business owners and the families who rely on them,” said Annette Meeks, CEO of the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota. “This case clearly illustrates why the card check process is so flawed and must never take the place of the secret ballot.”
“We’ve learned firsthand that card check is not always an indicator of how people actually feel,” said Parrish. “If all 11,000 and some childcare providers are allowed a secret ballot vote, the unions will not win. I think that we will absolutely prevail in a secret ballot election and I think that it will be a landslide.”

Yet, Parrish and others realize that the issue is far from settled and know that after investing five years into the movement, the unions are not going to give up either.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/surprising-setback-dayton-says-no-to-executive-order-for-daycare-provider-unionControversial Daycare Union Drive Reaches Governor's Officehttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/controversial-daycare-union-drive-reaches-governors-officeTue, 13 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardDaycare providers opposed to unionization of their work force who recently met with key members of Governor Dayton’s staff left the meeting concerned it may only be a matter of when, not if, the governor will issue an executive order paving the way for statewide union representation of Minnesota’s more than 11,000 childcare providers.]]>Daycare providers opposed to unionization of their work force who recently met with key members of Governor Dayton’s staff left the meeting concerned it may only be a matter of when, not if, the governor will issue an executive order paving the way for statewide union representation of Minnesota’s more than 11,000 childcare providers.More questions surface over union tactics in organizing drive

ST. PAUL, MN--Daycare providers opposed to unionization of their work force who recently met with key members of Governor Dayton’s staff left the meeting concerned it may only be a matter of when, not if, the governor will issue an executive order paving the way for statewide union representation of Minnesota’s more than 11,000 childcare providers.

“The impression we went away with was they were just looking at the best way to make this happen. I think that’s where they’re at now, trying to figure out how to do it,” said Jennifer Parrish, a Rochester daycare provider and leading opponent of unionization.

At the August 17 meeting with Governor Dayton’s staff in St. Paul, an influential statewide daycare provider organization that is neutral on the issue of unionization, raised concerns with the governor’s staff over the organizing drive to collect signatures from more than fifty percent of childcare providers statewide.

"Our concern has been on the process, and the process is possibly not showing what the majority of providers want," said Katy Chase, Executive Director of the Minnesota Licensed Family Childcare Association(MLFCCA) . "We've had multiple reports of individuals signing cards thinking they were only for more information."

While underscoring her organization’s neutral position on the union drive, Chase informed Dayton Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs Michelle Kelm-Helgen the MFLCCA supports a secret ballot vote to determine support for unionization to ensure a fair and accurate process. "We are supporting a majority vote, instead of only using cards," Chase said.

Dakota County Chamber of Commerce president Ruthe Batulis also attended the capitol meeting. While childcare providers are not chamber members and the business organization takes no position on the union drive, Batulis said volunteers were “helping them start petitions in their own communities, and figure out strategies for spreading the word.”

The impetus for the unionization drive is providers who receive state subsidies for children of low-income families. In other states with childcare provider unions, dues are collected from state subsidies payments. It’s unclear whether non-subsidized providers, who say they account for the vast majority of Minnesota’s daycare workers, would have to pay fair share fees.

Besides having a 'political voice,' the possibility of pension and health care plans constitutes one of the arguments for the union. Just three of the 13 states with childcare unions offer a health plan, however, and in two of those states the provider must be receiving state subsidy checks in order to qualify. None of the states with daycare provider unions appears to offer a pension.

The governor’s office did not respond to an FFM request for comment. In an article on opposition to the union drive in Carlton County, Dayton press secretary Katharine Tinucci said the administration is in the process of assessing the issue but has not reached a decision on whether or not Governor Dayton will decide the issue by issuing an executive order. It should be noted that in addition to personal contributions made by influential union leaders, AFSME and SEIU PACS contributed $14,000 to Dayton’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign. Neither AFSCME nor SEIU responded to FFM requests for comment.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/controversial-daycare-union-drive-reaches-governors-officeTonkaconnect Disconnected: A victory for Twin Cities Taxpayershttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/tonkaconnect-disconnected-a-victory-for-twin-cities-taxpayersThu, 04 Aug 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminBREAKING: Amidst the poor economic climate and national financial picture, Lake Minnetonka-area taxpayers received welcome news today that the state’s largest and most expensive taxpayer funded telecom network broadband network has been put on hold until at least 2013.
The decision came from the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission (LMCC). ]]>BREAKING: Amidst the poor economic climate and national financial picture, Lake Minnetonka-area taxpayers received welcome news today that the state’s largest and most expensive taxpayer funded telecom network broadband network has been put on hold until at least 2013.
The decision came from the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission (LMCC).

Amidst the poor economic climate and national financial picture, Lake Minnetonka-area taxpayers received welcome news today that the state’s largest and most expensive taxpayer funded telecom network broadband network has been put on hold until at least 2013.

The decision came from the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission (LMCC). They released a statement late today as it became clear that city leaders in Victoria, Greenwood, Orono, and Minnetonka Beach planned to join Shorewood in opposing Tonkaconnect.

In a special meeting Tuesday night, the LMCC executive committee decided to recommend no funding for the next phase of the fiber project in the 2012 budget. LMCC representatives will finalize the budget at an August 16 meeting.

“I think [the LMCC executive committee] realized that if a municipal fiber network is ever going to be built, the cities need a considerable amount of time spent in educating and understanding the significance of building such a system,” said a memo from Sally Koenecke, LMCC executive director.

The $81 million proposal sought to provide 25,000 households in communities from the 17 member cities with Internet, phone and cable fiber optic services.

“At this point in time, we don’t see a need for it,” said Minnetonka Beach Mayor Joanne Anderson. “We don’t need to be spending money on it because there just isn’t interest in our community, so I see this as a win for us.”

The three city councils of Greenwood, Orono, and Minnetonka Beach were all planning to vote in the next few days as to whether or not to participate in the project.

“I’m personally against spending any money on the fiber optic project,” said Orono mayor Lili McMillan. “What I want to do is send a message. I don’t feel government should be in this.”

The city of Victoria voted unanimously last week (with one abstention) to pull out of the project as well.

“This was a huge, huge undertaking,” said Mary Hershberger Thun, mayor of Victoria. “I think there really was some concern. Do we really understand what we’re getting into?”

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has been monitoring this and several other proposed municipal broadband projects.

“This is a stunning reversal and a great victory for taxpayers in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities” said Annette Meeks, CEO of the Freedom Foundation. “Our involvement stems from our concerns for local taxpayers who would have faced a considerable and lengthy burden should Tonkaconnect become a government-funded competitor to private providers. We applaud the decision by local government officials and hope this sets a precedent for other communities seeking to expand government in Minnesota.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/tonkaconnect-disconnected-a-victory-for-twin-cities-taxpayersTonka Disconnect: Shorewood Pulls Plug on Joining Costly Taxpayer-Funded Telecom Networkhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/tonka-disconnect-shorewood-pulls-plug-on-joining-costly-taxpayer-funded-telecom-networkTue, 26 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminTonkaconnect, an $81 million proposal to provide taxpayer-funded internet, phone and cable fiber optic services to communities in the Twin Cities western suburbs appeared to be gaining momentum—until the city of Shorewood recently started asking questions.]]>Tonkaconnect, an $81 million proposal to provide taxpayer-funded internet, phone and cable fiber optic services to communities in the Twin Cities western suburbs appeared to be gaining momentum—until the city of Shorewood recently started asking questions.

Sets stage for critical August decision on $81 million fiber project in western suburbs

SHOREWOOD, MN- Tonkaconnect, an $81 million proposal to provide taxpayer-funded internet, phone and cable fiber optic services to communities in the Twin Cities western suburbs appeared to be gaining momentum—until the city of Shorewood recently started asking questions.

In a June meeting, the Shorewood City Council stunned Tonkaconnect supporters by dismissing the need for the proposed network and voting 4-1 to reject participating in it. Concerns about cost, the proper role of government, long-term risk to taxpayers and the project’s viability dominated the discussion recorded in meeting minutes. Shorewood comprises about ten percent of the 25,000 households in the proposed coverage area.

Until this stunning reversal, Tonkaconnect appeared to be on the fast-track for approval.

A spring survey released by the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission (LMCC) revealed that most residents were satisfied with the existing private providers serving broadband needs in the 17 participating communities. However, Tonkaconnect supporters also said that the results indicated openness to a government-funded competitor, but only if prices were the same or lower.

“We truly have un-served and underserved pockets throughout the coverage area,” said Dick Woodruff, longtime proponent and Shorewood city councilor. ”So what we feel is that we’ve been asked by the constituency to go off and see if it makes sense. And the only option we see in front of us is to do it ourselves.”

Nothing seemed to be standing in the way of taking the next step, a $60,000 contract for a business plan that’s coming up for an August LMCC vote—nothing, that is, until the mayor of Shorewood put her foot down.

“I don’t think any other city has brought this question back to their city council and the thing is, they have this plan that I believe would cost over $80 million!” said Shorewood Mayor Christine Lizee.

“This is a want, it’s not a need,” said Mayor Lizee. “Is this the role of your local government to provide this service? The majority of our city council says no.”

Every Shorewood City Council member voted to reject the project except for Dick Woodruff, who also chairs Tonkaconnect’s working group.

“I think it was a very ill-advised decision and that at least a couple of the people on the council had no idea of what they were voting on,” Woodruff told FFM.

In effect, the LMCC would be proposing to launch a competitive broadband alternative, while at the same time have regulatory authority over existing providers. Interestingly,, the LMCC has been financing its efforts with franchise fees paid by Mediacom and collected from Mediacom’s customers, spending about $64,000 thus far.

“I’d like to have higher download speeds and all that but I think it should come from private enterprise,” said Scott Zerby, a software programmer and Shorewood city councilor. “I think they’ll continue to expand their systems and I’m sure they’ll continue to upgrade to fiber as it’s economically viable.”

Tonkaconnect would be governed by a separate entity outside LMCC and its 17 member cities. Supporters say the estimated $81 million cost of the fiber to the premise (FTTP) system would be financed by issuing revenue bonds to be paid back from revenue received from subscribers to the new system. Skeptics say a likelier outcome is that Lake Minnetonka area taxpayers will ultimately foot the bill or guarantee the bonds, an outcome based upon previous experience with municipal broadband service.

A key question involves a nearly century old state law that requires local governments to receive 65 percent of votes cast in a referendum in order to own and operate a telephone exchange. LMCC officials acknowledged putting the issue to voters in a referendum could be risky.

“Other government entities, municipalities and counties, are looking at this 1915 legislation,” Woodruff said. “It’s one of the things that has to be dealt with along the way.”

Yet another vote that’s already scheduled may determine Tonkaconnect’s fate even sooner. On August 16th LMCC representatives from each of the 17 member cities will vote on whether to proceed with the business plan and financial model that would lay the groundwork for financing the project.

“It really does hinge on this vote,” said Sally Koenecke, LMCC executive director. “There’s no way we can get the information we need other than to do this. Unless this is funded, I don’t think the project will move forward.”

Will Shorewood’s decision to pull back from Tonkaconnect result in a domino effect and lead other cities in the LMCC consortium to follow suit? Stay tuned.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/tonka-disconnect-shorewood-pulls-plug-on-joining-costly-taxpayer-funded-telecom-networkAnother Minnesota Broadband Stimulus Project Turns to Local Taxpayershttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/another-minnesota-broadband-stimulus-project-turns-to-local-taxpayersWed, 06 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminWhen bids were recently opened by the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services (SMBS) consortium, proponents of the fiber optic stimulus project found out it was going to cost more than they bargained for--$1.7 million more. Suddenly, a venture that started out as a $12.8 million “government giveaway” became dependent upon local taxpayers for a bailout. ]]>When bids were recently opened by the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services (SMBS) consortium, proponents of the fiber optic stimulus project found out it was going to cost more than they bargained for--$1.7 million more. Suddenly, a venture that started out as a $12.8 million “government giveaway” became dependent upon local taxpayers for a bailout.

Cities bypass referendum despite existing Minnesota law

When bids were recently opened by the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services (SMBS) consortium, proponents of the fiber optic stimulus project found out it was going to cost more than they bargained for--$1.7 million more. Suddenly, a venture that started out as a $12.8 million “government giveaway” became dependent upon local taxpayers for a bailout.

Eight rural cities will own and operate SMBS, a 125-mile long fiber optic network that will offer telephone, video and internet service to some 3,300 residences and 350 businesses. Half of the $12.8 million federal stimulus funding came in the form of a grant, while the other half is a Rural Utilities Services (RUS) loan that SMBS officials say will be repaid through revenues from the network. Several private providers already offer high speed internet services in the area, but city and county officials insist their network will be faster and help retain local employers such as Toro.

Despite a lagging economy and difficult times for local government, five of the consortium’s small, rural communities have already anted up $1 million, loaning local tax dollars to the project as required by federal law.. Contributions from local governments range from $520,000 from the city of Jackson (population 3,299) to $30,000 from Bingham Lake (population 126) -- an amount larger than the $27,487 in Local Government Aid (LGA) the city received in 2010.

To keep the project on track, SMBS officials came up with a digital two-for-one deal: $1 million worth of “free” broadband services for Jackson County government buildings in exchange for a $500,000 advance payment for services courtesy of county taxpayers. “It’s a win-win for both of us,” said Dan Olsen, SMBS general manager. “We got some upfront dollars for the services and they can get cost savings that nobody else was willing to provide for them.”

Proponents say SMBS will also be a winner for a six year old municipal telecom network operated by the nearby community of Windom, the original applicant for stimulus funding. SMBS was designed to tie into and “leverage the initial success of the Windomnet network.” Windomnet is scheduled to receive an infusion of $40,000 from SMBS in 2011. ”To the city of Windom, it’s another big customer,” said Olsen, who now oversees both SMBS and Windomnet.

SMBS’ application for federal stimulus funding refers to Windomnet as a success story that “proves these networks can be built and remain competitive.” An audit provided to the Windom City Council on June 21st, however, found that Windomnet lost $661,301 in 2010 despite its reported revenues of about $1.8 million. The audit indicates the Windom broadband network has $15.3 million in remaining long-term debt and additional liabilities on the city books.

Olsen attributed Windomnet’s losses largely to high depreciation rates, including nearly $690,000 last year. “We’re down here creating jobs. In this economy we’re trying to make it cash flow,” Olsen said. “It’s a tough road ahead of us and we understand that, but this wasn’t supposed to be a cash cow for the city. The system overall, we’ll defend it. You can tear anything apart.”

None of the eight southwestern Minnesota communities involved have scheduled a referendum to give local taxpayers the opportunity to vote on whether to proceed with the government-run telecom project. State law requires local governments to receive 65 percent of votes cast in a referendum in order to own and operate a telephone exchange. In November, 2000 Windom voters approved a ballot question allowing the city to implement the Windomnet system with 67 percent support. After seeking legal advice, SMBS officials intend to move ahead without turning to voters of the eight cities in the consortium for approval.

“That whole referendum question, some do it and some don’t,” Olsen said. ”That’s always been a hot potato in Minnesota.”

Originally scheduled for completion in 2011, SMBS plans to begin construction by August 1. Supporters expect the network to be up and running in 2012. Some 1,700 current local cable and internet subscribers have already signed up for some services.

While SMBS hopes to revamp its business plan by the end of the year, officials already have an aggressive marketing pitch. “Today’s incumbent service providers will not be able to provide the next-generation of broadband services that will keep this area competitive with the global marketplace. SMBS will own and operate the network, employees will be your friends and neighbors and dollars will stay in your communities,” according to the SMBS website.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/another-minnesota-broadband-stimulus-project-turns-to-local-taxpayersHome Daycare Providers Organize Against Statewide Unionization Campaignhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/home-daycare-providers-organize-against-statewide-unionization-campaignMon, 13 Jun 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminThousands of licensed Minnesota day care providers may soon become unionized at the stroke of Governor Dayton’s pen via executive order as an increasingly contentious, yet largely unknown, organizing campaign apparently nears an end, according to opponents. ]]>Thousands of licensed Minnesota day care providers may soon become unionized at the stroke of Governor Dayton’s pen via executive order as an increasingly contentious, yet largely unknown, organizing campaign apparently nears an end, according to opponents.

Controversial card check drive by AFSCME and SEIU aims for governor’s executive order

Thousands of licensed Minnesota day care providers may soon become unionized at the stroke of Governor Dayton’s pen via executive order as an increasingly contentious, yet largely unknown, organizing campaign apparently nears an end, according to opponents.

The effort to organize the approximately 12,000 licensed home-based daycare providers goes back at least five years. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) appear to be working in different counties throughout the state to form two separate unions: Child Care Providers Together-AFSCME and SEIU-Kids First. The unions have patterned the drive after similar campaigns in other states that targeted providers with clients that receive state childcare subsidies.

The process does not involve a secret ballot or a vote, but rather a controversial method called card check. Organizers go door-to-door to childcare providers on the job asking them to sign cards that give the union collective bargaining rights. The unions set out to collect signatures of more than half of the available providers or approximately 3,000 signed cards apiece. After the cards are certified, it is believed Governor Dayton will be asked to sign an executive order designating AFSCME and SEIU as collective bargaining units to negotiate with the state. In addition to personal contributions made by influential union leaders, AFSCME and SEIU PACs contributed $14,000 to Dayton's 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

“Just about everybody we have spoken to has said they were not told by signing that card they were supporting a union,” said Jennifer Parrish, a Rochester provider who’s leading opposition to the union. “The main theme seems to be people are being told they can sign up for more information or be put on a mailing list.”

Jackie Seifert said that’s what happened to her when a young woman knocked on the door of her daycare business in Rochester.

“She never said she was a union representative and she had no identification as far as a name badge or jacket or any of that,” Seifert said. “It was lunch time when she came and I was busy getting things ready for the kids and she asked me to sign this card for more information.”

Only later, Seifert said, did she learn the woman was a SEIU organizer. She was dismayed to find that the fine print on the card she signed grants the union representation for the purposes of collective bargaining on her behalf.

“I about died I was so embarrassed. I had been had, that was basically how I felt because I was misinformed,” Seifert said.

Seifert demanded and received her signed card back from SEIU. AFSCME appears to have reached its quota of a majority of signed cards ready for certification, after which “yes” cards cannot be rescinded.

Neither AFSCME nor SEIU union representatives returned repeated calls from the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota. In an online interview with providers opposed to the union and posted at childcareinfo.com, the lead organizers for AFSCME and SEIU defended their volunteers and said they received training in best practices.

In other states, daycare providers are deemed employees of the state for purposes of the collective bargaining process. Tom Copeland, a Twin Cities attorney and childcare business expert who supports the organizing drive, says the legal step doesn’t mean the self-employed providers would actually work for the state.

“They’re not an employee of the state. They don’t lose their self-employee control, the state has nothing to say about how they operate, what they charge or what rules they adopt,” Copeland said. “It’s only around negotiating higher subsidy rates and perhaps changes in those regulations and perhaps a better system of grievances and licensing rules, that’s it.”

Licensed providers who oppose unionization have mounted an on-line petition drive to gather enough signatures to present to Governor Dayton before he takes potential action. Governor Dayton’s office did not respond to FFM’s email requests for comment on the issue.

“Do I think he’d sign it?” Copeland said. “I think he would and I think the unions think he would.”

“As a small business owner it’s my right to have my own voice and not be covered under this union and to not have to financially support a union that I don’t believe is going to benefit me or my business,” Jennifer Parrish said. “I’m very confident that if this went to a secret ballot vote where every licensed provider got to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ that we’d prevail.”

Home-based childcare provider unions are operating in fourteen states. Yet the union formed in Michigan by the United Auto Workers and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was recently cut off from receiving mandatory dues by state authorities. The Child Care Providers Together Michigan union effort led to lawsuits over designating home-based childcare workers as state employees and deducting dues from subsidies for low-income families. Providers recently reached a settlement to preclude the state of Michigan from tying union membership to state childcare subsidies in the future. A separate class action lawsuit has been filed against union officials on behalf of childcare providers by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, seeking repayment of nearly $4 million of dues collected since 2008.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/home-daycare-providers-organize-against-statewide-unionization-campaignMinnesota Ranks 34th in Overall Freedom Among the Stateshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesota-ranks-34th-in-overall-freedom-among-the-statesWed, 08 Jun 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminMinnesotans enjoy less freedom overall than residents of two-thirds of the other states, according to a recent study by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Minnesota is current ranked 34th in this new, national report, "Freedom in the 50 States."]]>Minnesotans enjoy less freedom overall than residents of two-thirds of the other states, according to a recent study by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Minnesota is current ranked 34th in this new, national report, "Freedom in the 50 States."

Minnesotans enjoy less freedom overall than residents of two-thirds of the other states, according to a recent study by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Minnesota is current ranked 34th in this new, national report, "Freedom in the 50 States." The report ranks and compares economic and personal freedom across the U.S.

The freest states are New Hampshire, South Dakota, Indiana, Idaho and Missouri, while the least free states are New York, New Jersey, California, Hawaii and Massachusetts, according to the Mercatus Center study.Minnesota placed 35th in the last rankings released in 2009.

The personal freedom index takes into account factors such as “peaceable citizens' rights to educate their own children, to own and carry firearms, and to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures."The economic freedom index combines fiscal and regulatory factors such as taxes, debt level, labor regulation, health-insurance coverage mandates, occupational licensing, eminent domain, and the percentage of state and local government employment in total state employment.

Among other details, the report singles out Minnesota’s higher than average taxes and social services spending, blue laws for alcohol, lack of helmet laws, unusually high insurance coverage mandates and occupational licensing requirements, while noting the state minimum wage was allowed to drop to the federal standard.

The policy recommendations for Minnesota suggest rolling back the requirement for unnecessary licenses such as sanitarians, title searches, audiologists, occupational therapist assistants, private detectives, and embalmers.It also recommends eliminating health insurancemandates, such as the current requirements for speech and hearing specialists, osteopathy, dieticians, occupational therapy, reconstructive surgery, infertility services, and port wine stain removal.

While a useful yardstick to compare and contrast the economic and social environment between states, the authors advise against reading too much into the findings.

“Although we hope we have demonstrated that some states provide freer environments than others, it would be inappropriate to infer that the freest states necessarily enjoy a libertarian streak, while others suffer from a statist mentality,” the authors state.

The freedom index also identifies two noteworthy statistical trends in finding that Americans are gravitating to states with more economic and personal freedom and that growth in personal income corresponds to economic freedom.

After controlling for things such as climate and cost of living, there appears to be a positive correlation between lower freedom rankings and net migration rates. Minnesota, which is less free overall, had a -0.9% migration rate in 2009 compared to 2000.

The migration findings suggest people do consider freedom in their decision-making, and policymakers should too if they want win over taxpayers.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesota-ranks-34th-in-overall-freedom-among-the-statesBacklash Leads to Repeal of Controversial Natural Gas Pricing Programhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/backlash-leads-to-repeal-of-controversial-natural-gas-pricing-programWed, 01 Jun 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminHeat's Off! Controversial Energy Pricing Repealed‏? Thousands of CenterPoint Energy customers who were slapped with skyrocketing natural gas bills due to a controversial pilot program detailed in a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota investigative report may see much lower heating bills in the near future. ]]>Heat's Off! Controversial Energy Pricing Repealed‏? Thousands of CenterPoint Energy customers who were slapped with skyrocketing natural gas bills due to a controversial pilot program detailed in a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota investigative report may see much lower heating bills in the near future.

ST. PAUL, MN--Thousands of CenterPoint Energy customers who were slapped with skyrocketing natural gas bills due to a controversial pilot program detailed in a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota investigative report may see much lower heating bills in the near future.
The repeal of the so-called “inverted block rate” pilot program was among the reforms in the Omnibus Energy Policy Bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature and signed into law last Friday by Governor Mark Dayton. The ink was hardly dry when Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson today also called on the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to suspend the controversial pricing system, citing “unjust and unintended consequences” for a wide array of consumers as the key factor in her request.
Word that the increasing consumer backlash against the politically correct pricing program led to its elimination at the State Capitol surprised CenterPoint customer Peter Westerhaus of Chanhassen. “It’s fantastic, I think the legislature did the right thing. I think the governor did the right thing in signing it,” Westerhaus said. “There’s a commonsense approach to energy and this fits that category, versus the punitive nature of the tiered rate program.”
Despite the lowest natural gas prices in years, many CenterPoint ratepayers saw their energy bills spike this winter, thanks to an experimental pricing system imposed by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Some of Minnesota’s biggest environmental groups played a key role in crafting the controversial pilot program, including Energy Cents Coalition, Izaak Walton League, and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

Under the three-year pilot also known as the “tiered energy program”, the first 30 “therms” (a unit of measurement) on the bill are discounted at a rate below cost, the next tier is charged approximately at cost, and the remaining three tiers are charged at increasingly higher rates per therm. The pricing structure does not take into account factors such as family income, household size, or energy efficiency investments made by homeowners.
One stunned homeowner from Dayton, Minnesota who received a February heating bill for $450 told the PUC in a blistering letter that she lives in a five-year old house with energy efficient windows, appliances, and furnace. “I know this was a colder year but these prices are outrageous,” Sue Harff wrote. “People are already losing their houses. Are we supposed to get priced out because of heat bills, too?”
Scores of irate and impassioned complaints are posted publicly on the PUC website. Concerns include the program’s financial impact on seniors, lower income families and others on fixed incomes, stay-at-home parents and daycare providers. Some question the program’s premise give the U.S. abundance of natural gas supplies.
“I am angry that CenterPoint put in place a system that forces us to pay higher gas bills at a time when the economy is slow and we have less money to spend,” Matthew Smith of Minneapolis wrote to the PUC in an email. “The timing couldn’t be worse…MY WIFE AND I CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY THESE UNFAIRLY ALLOCATED RATES.”
The pilot project grew out of the Next Generation Energy Act passed by the Minnesota Legislature and signed by Governor Pawlenty in 2007. The Act directed the PUC to “decouple” or change the way utilities raise revenue, relying less on the amount of energy sold, theoretically eliminating the disincentive forutilities to invest in conservation measures.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/backlash-leads-to-repeal-of-controversial-natural-gas-pricing-programMN Rural Phone Companies Face Increased Scrutiny After “Free” X-Rated and Conference Callshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/mn-rural-phone-companies-face-increased-scrutiny-after-free-x-rated-and-conference-calls1Thu, 26 May 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminRegulatory loophole allows handful of rural phone providers to cash in—for now It’s dialing for dollars and it’s making a few Minnesota rural telephone companies very rich. It’s all due to a regulatory loophole that allows millions of dollars to flow to a handful of small Minnesota phone companies.]]>Regulatory loophole allows handful of rural phone providers to cash in—for now It’s dialing for dollars and it’s making a few Minnesota rural telephone companies very rich. It’s all due to a regulatory loophole that allows millions of dollars to flow to a handful of small Minnesota phone companies.

It’s dialing for dollars and it’s making a few Minnesota rural telephone companies very rich.

It’s all due to a regulatory loophole that allows millions of dollars to flow to a handful of small Minnesota phone companies. They do this by generating a high volume of “free”, often X-rated “chat line” phone calls and conference calls through their small, local telephone service providers. Existing telecommunications regulations allow these small, rural telephone companies to charge higher access fees to deliver long distance calls, fees which were intended to subsidize essential, local phone service to those communities.

The controversial practice known as “traffic pumping” started quietly about five years ago but now faces increasing scrutiny from the Minnesota Legislature and Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress.

An advertisement on file in a regulatory case involving the northwestern Minnesota provider Tekstar Communications reveals how it works. The ad promotes a “free party line” and “gay man2man chat” at two phone numbers with telephone exchanges associated with Mahnomen, Minnesota. The tag line: “100% FREE means we never charge for this service. Just a regular call to Minnesota.”

It’s all legal and virtually happens with the flick of a switch on equipment that’s installed in rural phone companies, mainly in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. They team up with high-volume phone sex and conference call services often located in California, Nevada and New York. Phone companies can increase their long distance business from 100,000 minutes, a relatively small number, to well over a million minutes per month, all subject to an access fee about eight times higher than non-rural calls.

Larger long distance and wireless phone companies say it’s their customers that eventually pay for the “free” calls, which amount to $150 million annually for cell phone users alone, according to industry studies.

Tekstar Communications in Perham, Minnesota was among two dozen companies in several states contacted last year by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over telecom issues. Federal investigators were looking into traffic pumping at the time. “There are allegations that several of the companies engaged in practices designed to increase call volumes and access charge revenue do so by providing free calling services for indecent or pornographic content,” the letter stated according to a report in Tech Law Journal Daily.

“We’re not in the business of policing our customers’ calls,” said Dan Lipschultz, an attorney representing Tekstar. “I can tell you most of Tekstar’s customers are strictly in the conference call business, though there’s a significant minority percentage of customers in the chat business and some are in both.”

Tekstar has sued Sprint in Minnesota federal district court “for withholding payment of millions of dollars of access fees associated with its traffic pumping activities”, according to public documents.

“It’s revenue sharing and everyone knows it’s revenue sharing,” Lipschultz said. “It’s commonplace in the telephone business as an incentive to drive up call volume.”

Larger phone companies and wireless providers who get billed tens of millions of dollars more because of the fees, however, call it a “kickback” scheme that cynically takes advantage of a well-intentioned regulation. They also say it’s harder for parents to monitor such calls by their kids.

“As a parent, you can easily block a 900 number,” said Sean Simpson, a T-Mobile representative who recently testified about this practice at a Minnesota legislative hearing. “You cannot block a local number to an adult chat room like you can a 900 number.”

Much of the legal and legislative activity over the controversial calls has been put on hold, pending action by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Since the overwhelming majority of chat and conference calls come from outside Minnesota, the FFC is expected to rule on and potentially resolve the issue this summer. The key question is whether the higher fees to connect long distance calls to rural phone exchanges can be justified any longer given the higher volume of calls coming in. Some rural phone companies aren’t looking forward to the FCC’s call.

“At the end of the day, it’s a rate issue and the FCC recognizes it’s a rate issue. A lower rate is the right solution to the problem,” Lipschultz said. “Tekstar has 1,500 customers, mainly residential and small businesses in Detroit Lakes, Park Rapids and that area. If this business goes away, they will survive but people will probably lose jobs.”

Many thought the party line that used to be so common in rural areas went away long ago. Future FCC regulations could mean the end of an era for the X-rated version of the rural party line, as well.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/mn-rural-phone-companies-face-increased-scrutiny-after-free-x-rated-and-conference-calls1Northstar Year 2: lower expectations, HIGHER SUBSIDIEShttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/northstar-year-2-lower-expectations-higher-subsidiesWed, 18 May 2011 05:00:00 GMTTom Steward
Metro Transit goes with the flow as taxpayers pick up the slack
While views vary widely over the wisdom of constructing Minnesota’s firstcommuter rail line, just about everyone agrees the number of riders for the first year of Northstar service fell far short of expectations— 20 percent and 185,000 riders short. ]]>
Metro Transit goes with the flow as taxpayers pick up the slack
While views vary widely over the wisdom of constructing Minnesota’s firstcommuter rail line, just about everyone agrees the number of riders for the first year of Northstar service fell far short of expectations— 20 percent and 185,000 riders short. While views vary widely over the wisdom of constructing Minnesota’s firstcommuter rail line, just about everyone agrees the number of riders for the first year of Northstar service fell far short of expectations— 20 percent and 185,000 riders short.

When ridership comes up short, so do taxpayers, who were already expected to subsidize 79 percent of Northstar’s $16.8 million operating costs—before the shortfall. Passenger ticket sales were projected to pay for 21 percent of the cost of train rides, an operating deficit of more than $1 million per month. The final audited 2010 “farebox recovery” numbers for Northstar Commuter Rail will not be available until July.

But we already know that Northstar’s projected operating costs for 2011 will put even more of a strain on taxpayers to pick up the slack. Metro Transit lowered its projected number of passengers for 2011 by 147,000 riders, some 16 percent under its 2010 goal. As a result, Metro Transit raised the amount of its projected taxpayer subsidy to operate Northstar in 2011 to 84 percent, some 5 percent more than its 2010 goal.

“As the first commuter rail line here, first full year projections had essentially no ‘real world’ history from commuter rail operation in this region in their basis,” said Metro Transit spokesman John Siqveland in an email. “Second year projections are based on the first year actual [numbers] from Northstar plus an assumption of growth.”

In 2011, Metro Transit hopes to attract 750,000 Northstar riders, about 40,000 more passengers than in 2010. Compared to last year’s less than expected passenger numbers, Northstar has posted modest increases in riders so far in 2011.

With fewer overall passengers expected to ride the rail service this year than budgeted for in 2010, Northstar’s operating budget was projected to decline slightly from $16.8 in 2010 to $16.5 million this year. Given that assumption, ticket sales are expected to cover just $2.64 million of Northstar’s operating costs.

A 2010 Freedom Foundation of Minnesota report based onMetro Transit statistics calculated that every $14 round trip ticket on theNorthstar Commuter Rail Line costs taxpayers an additional $29.66 in subsidies.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/northstar-year-2-lower-expectations-higher-subsidiesTaxpayers “Underserved” by U of M's Multi-Million Dollar Broadband Stimulus Projecthttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/taxpayers-underserved-by-u-of-ms-multi-million-dollar-broadband-stimulus-projectFri, 06 May 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminA $3.6 million Broadband Access Project that the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota first flagged in a 2009 investigative report has done nothing to close the digital divide in underserved Twin Cities neighborhoods, according to a recent report on KSTP-TV.]]>A $3.6 million Broadband Access Project that the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota first flagged in a 2009 investigative report has done nothing to close the digital divide in underserved Twin Cities neighborhoods, according to a recent report on KSTP-TV.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN—A $3.6 million Broadband Access Project that the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota first flagged in a 2009 investigative report has done nothing to close the digital divide in underserved Twin Cities neighborhoods, according to a recent report on KSTP-TV.

The University of Minnesota project, which received $2.8 million in federal stimulus funds and $800,000 in local matching funds, was highlighted by FFM in an October 2009 Accountability Alert. In their application for stimulus funding, the University of Minnesota made the bold claim that it will ”close the Digital Divide’ in four Twin Cities poverty zones.” Eleven computer labs in Minneapolis and St. Paul intended for use by “underserved populations” were upgraded and expanded.

The project description states, “the University of Minnesota is uniquely qualified to carry out this project. The Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center, Office for Business and Community Development, and Extension Services have decades of combined experience in public engagement, broadband and Internet training, and development of computer curricula for public audiences.”

The KSTP-TV investigation, however, showed that the targeted underserved populations are more underserved than ever with fewer people using the computer labs after the infusion of millions of federal taxpayer dollars than before, according to reports filed with the federal government.

After checking all eleven computer labs, KSTP-TV found “erratic hours, difficult-to-find locations and even closed and locked labs when the doors were supposed to be open to the public.”

In the fall of 2009, The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, via a Minnesota data Practices Act request, sought a copy of the State of Minnesota’s "wish list" of broadband projects. These projects were recommended to receive funding under the federal broadband stimulus program administered by the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). At that time, Minnesota officials declined FFM’s request to review the proposals and the state’s recommendations, citing state law.

Minnesota was one of a handful of states that refused to make its list of broadband stimulus project recommendations public in advance of funding decisions being handed down by the federal government. This decision prompted local and national criticism. The state list of recommendations was not released to FFM until April 2011. The Broadband Access Project at the University of Minnesota was one of only two projects recommended by then Minnesota Department of Commerce Commissioner Glenn Wilson in the sustainable broadband adoption and public computing center categories.

“This is a matter of transparency in government, plain and simple,” Annette Meeks, CEO of the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, said at the time. “We were told that the record-setting stimulus spending would be accompanied by record-setting transparency. Numerous other states have released their recommendations. It’s not too late to do the right thing and open up the books in Minnesota.”

Ultimately, it’s a case of taxpayers, as well as the intended recipients of the project, being “underserved” by another federal broadband stimulus program. In October 2009 FFM also flagged a $70 million broadband stimulus proposal in Lake County that subsequently became one of the most controversial in the country.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/taxpayers-underserved-by-u-of-ms-multi-million-dollar-broadband-stimulus-projectCenterPoint Ratepayers Revolt as Green Pricing Plan Leads to Skyrocketing Heating Billshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/centerpoint-ratepayers-revolt-as-green-pricing-plan-leads-to-skyrocketing-heating-billsTue, 26 Apr 2011 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardWith the lowest natural gas prices in years, ratepayers might expect to get a break on their energy bills. However, an experimental pricing system imposed on CenterPoint customers this season by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) at the urging of environmental groups has many Minnesotans turning up the heat on state and utility officials over unexpectedly high winter natural gas heating bills. ]]>With the lowest natural gas prices in years, ratepayers might expect to get a break on their energy bills. However, an experimental pricing system imposed on CenterPoint customers this season by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) at the urging of environmental groups has many Minnesotans turning up the heat on state and utility officials over unexpectedly high winter natural gas heating bills. With the lowest natural gas prices in years, ratepayers might expect to get a break on their energy bills. However, an experimental pricing system imposed on CenterPoint customers this season by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) at the urging of environmental groups has many Minnesotans turning up the heat on state and utility officials over unexpectedly high winter natural gas heating bills. The controversial issue is the subject of recently introduced legislation at the state capitol.

One stunned homeowner from Dayton, Minnesota who received a February heating bill for $450 told the PUC in a blistering letter that she lives in a five-year old house with energy efficient windows, appliances, and furnace. “I know this was a colder year but these prices are outrageous,” Sue Harff wrote. “People are already losing their houses. Are we supposed to get priced out because of heat bills, too?”

Scores of irate and impassioned complaints have poured in to CenterPoint Energy and the PUC over the financial impact of the so-called “tiered natural gas pricing” program. Also known as “inverted block rate” pricing, the program charges customers who use comparatively more energy an inflated rate for natural gas. The complaints are posted publicly by the PUC.

“I am angry that CenterPoint put in place a system that forces us to pay higher gas bills at a time when the economy is slow and we have less money to spend,” Matthew Smith of Minneapolis wrote to the PUC in an email. ”The timing couldn’t be worse…MY WIFE AND I CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY THESE UNFAIRLY ALLOCATED RATES.”

Under the three-year pilot program, the first 30 “therms” (a unit of measurement) on the bill are discounted at a rate below cost, the next tier is charged approximately at cost, and the remaining three tiers are charged at increasingly higher rates per therm. The pricing structure does not take into account factors such as family income, household size, or energy efficiency investments made by homeowners.

“People that don’t have a lot of disposable income are already cutting corners and those that do have the money probably could care less about their energy bill and you are just legally stealing from them because they have no choice,” Theron Yantes told the PUC. “Your plan is pointless and is only hurting the lower and middle class again doing nothing to conserve energy.”

Many who lodge complaints express support for energy conservation, but believe the tiered pricing program will have the opposite effect. Some express concern about the financial impact not just on themselves, but on seniors and those with fixed incomes. Some stay-at-home parents say the program penalizes larger families for their energy use and smacks of social engineering. Others note that the U.S. has an abundance of natural gas and significant reserve supplies. Another common concern points out that the utility has a monopoly and there is no competitor for consumers to turn to for lower prices.

“It is analogous to two cars that get fuel at the gas station,” wrote Grant Hiesterman of Bloomington in responding to his $539 heating bill. “The car that needs 10 gallons pays $3.00 per gallon. The car that needs 25 gallons pays $6.00 per gallon…for the same gas!”

The pilot project grew out of the Next Generation Energy Act passed by the Minnesota Legislature and signed by Governor Pawlenty in 2007. The Act directed the PUC to “decouple” or change the way utilities raise revenue, relying less on the amount of energy sold, theoretically eliminating the disincentive for utilities to invest in conservation measures.

Today the Senate Energy and Utilities Committee will hold a hearing on a bill (SF 817) introduced by Senator Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) that includes language repealing the natural gas utilities’ inverted block rate program. The committee may consider the repeal for inclusion in an omnibus energy policy bill to be assembled in the next few weeks. The companion bill in the House was discussed in committee earlier this month.

In the meantime, many CenterPoint consumers will be left wondering how they wound up paying the down payment for a controversial energy-saving experiment that the state, environmental groups and utility decided was worth everyone else’s investment.

A Maple Grove man with a newly constructed home with the latest energy efficient appliances and materials summed up the frustration and anger among many CenterPoint customers. “What are my options to decrease my bill and become more efficient? Should I start burning newspaper in a trash can in my garage?” Patrick O’Keefe wrote to the PUC. “Or should I spend $50,000 to add geothermal heating to my home? Both seem unreasonable.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/centerpoint-ratepayers-revolt-as-green-pricing-plan-leads-to-skyrocketing-heating-billsMnDOT Says End of the Road for Historic Mantorville Signshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/mndot-says-end-of-the-road-for-historic-mantorville-signsThu, 21 Apr 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminTwo new signs along Highway 57 on either end of town say it all: “Welcome to Historic Mantorville.” The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) “outdoor advertising control agent” who recently conducted a drive-by state sign inspection may have worn out his welcome, however, after notifying city hall that three older signs along the state highway in this small, southeastern Minnesota town violate state regulations and must go, including one for the community’s annual Marigold Days celebration. ]]>Two new signs along Highway 57 on either end of town say it all: “Welcome to Historic Mantorville.” The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) “outdoor advertising control agent” who recently conducted a drive-by state sign inspection may have worn out his welcome, however, after notifying city hall that three older signs along the state highway in this small, southeastern Minnesota town violate state regulations and must go, including one for the community’s annual Marigold Days celebration. Drive-by state inspection finds sign for Marigold Days, local café and historic theater must go or city and property owners risk citation

Two new signs along Highway 57 on either end of town say it all: “Welcome to Historic Mantorville.” The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) “outdoor advertising control agent” who recently conducted a drive-by state sign inspection may have worn out his welcome, however, after notifying city hall that three older signs along the state highway in this small, southeastern Minnesota town violate state regulations and must go, including one for the community’s annual Marigold Days celebration.

“It’s like his job to go around and look at signs,” said Camille Reger, Mantorville city clerk. “I’m just surprised that after how long [the sign] it’s been there that they’re cracking down now. What’s the reason behind it? “

Two well-worn black and gold Marigold Days signs feature the city’s signature flowers and help define a historic community that boasts an 1850’s hotel, opera house and a 12-block downtown area that’s on the National Historic Registry.

State regulations allow cities to post identification signs on state highways at each entrance to town. For years the Marigold Days signs informally served that purpose for Mantorville—until the new welcome signs were erected in 2010. According to a city employee, a MnDOT road sign inspector recently reclassified one of the Marigold Days signs as an advertisement that he believes is also in the right of way. This, despite the fact that the offending sign has been in place for at least 20 years. MnDOT ordered city employees to remove the sign.

“I don’t know what it’s really hurting and it’s in a very feasible location,” Reger said. “We’re just doing what we’re being told and I don’t want to get a citation.”

Though the city has requested the state order in writing, officials plan to remove the offending sign by the end of the week. The other Marigold Days sign will be allowed to remain in place due to its location just off the highway in the park where the event takes place.

Officials in MnDOT’s Rochester district office did not yet return our calls for comment. MnDOT’s website says state sign inspectors are monitored by federal highway officials. “The Federal Highway Administration office in Minnesota monitors Minnesota's compliance with federal highway beautification laws. State transportation employees are responsible for administering these laws on state highways and must remove signs that violate the laws.”

Billboards for the use and purpose of displaying public notices may be erected, with the approval of the proper road authority, "within the limits of any public highway, including city streets." (Minnesota Statutes, section 160.27) An unusual exception to the sign placement prohibition is that “cities of first class” may have bicycle racks and bicycle storage within the highway right of way with the permission of the road authority. These bicycle amenities may then contain advertisements, public art, and informational signs.

MnDOT’s Mantorville inspection also nabbed two more alleged sign violations. It appears to also be the end of the road for at least one of two signs for the Old School Café. Despite no apparent complaints, at least one café sign must be removed because it does not have a state permit to be up in a non-commercial zone.

“We’re just trying to make a living here. It’s out of the right of way and everything,” owner Doug Schmidt said. “How do you go about fighting it? You know eventually I’d get cited for something. He didn’t give me a time limit to get it removed, so I’m going to leave it up a month or two maybe.”

A third sign was recently removed from a grassy lot beside the historic opera house after being flagged for concerns over the Americans for Disabilities Act and state regulations, according to the city.

So what about the standard issue MnDOT signs with the city name and population on the edge of practically every town in Minnesota? Do they require a permit?

“They can put up their own signs wherever they want,” Reger said. “They’re the state, right?”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/mndot-says-end-of-the-road-for-historic-mantorville-signsHold Out Holds On in Eminent Domain Standoff over Airport Expansionhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/hold-out-holds-on-in-eminent-domain-standoff-over-airport-expansionTue, 19 Apr 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminThere may not be air traffic controllers in Mora, Minnesota but critics say the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and state transportation officials have fallen asleep on the job anyway by approving a controversial airport expansion project estimated to cost between $1.2 to $1.7 million.]]>There may not be air traffic controllers in Mora, Minnesota but critics say the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and state transportation officials have fallen asleep on the job anyway by approving a controversial airport expansion project estimated to cost between $1.2 to $1.7 million.

Life, liberty and landing strip on City of Mora’s radar

There may not be air traffic controllers in Mora, Minnesota but critics say the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and state transportation officials have fallen asleep on the job anyway by approving a controversial airport expansion project estimated to cost between $1.2 to $1.7 million. This controversial airport project proposes using federal and local funding to seize private land for municipal airport improvements.

The controversy involves nine acres of woods and wetlands owned by Greg and Deb Yankowiak that the city wants to cut down and fill in to construct a backup grass strip “crosswinds runway” that will not be available for landings at night or in winter. It’s become personal for Greg Yankowiak, who planted many of the doomed trees with his sons on the 75 acre nursery he runs. Yankowiak says he was once denied a permit to dig out and improve one of the wetlands the city now plans to fill in.

“I question seriously how we are defining eminent domain in this day and age,” Yankowiak said. “We are entitled to life, liberty and property and none of that can be taken away without due process. We’re not talking about a main runway. If eminent domain can take land for a grass runway, every city with an airport would fit into that definition.”

The City of Mora maintains, however, that the grass airstrip is needed as an alternative landing site to the main runway in case of heavy winds. The city shut down an existing crosswinds runway in 2007 to make way for an industrial park, which remains about two-thirds undeveloped.

Federal Aviation Administration funds will pay for 95 percent of the cost with local taxpayers ultimately expending $226,000 for the project. The Capital Improvement Plan for the Mora Municipal Airport on MNDOT’s website includes $130,000 to acquire Yankowiak’s property, though the nursery owner says he’s been offered less than one-third of that.

“Eminent domain, nobody really likes to do it,” said Joel Dhein, Mora city administrator. “I think the issues involved with the pilot safety, there’s a lot of varying opinions. If it wasn’t a safety issue, would the FAA and State of Minnesota want us to build one?”

Opponents point out that the Mora Municipal Airport has operated safely (for four years) without the grass airstrip, which many smaller airports do not offer. They also note that nationally known entertainers appearing at nearby Grand Casino in Hinckley sometimes land there.

In a last ditch effort to keep his property, Yankowiak took out a full page color ad in the local newspaper. In that paid advertisement, he invited his Kanabec County neighbors to attend what may amount to his last stand at a Mora City Council meeting Tuesday night. The ad includes pictures of the trumpeter swans, geese, coyotes and other wildlife that populate his property. At this point, it appears only one member of the city council supports him.

“Just because we’re able to get grant money to do it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do,” city council member Denise Akkerman said. “It still costs taxpayers money, whether it’s federal money or property tax money. Anybody who travels or flies on an airplane has to pay that.”

The city has spent $49,000 on environmental credits to replace wetlands lost in extending the main runway in 2007 and the grass airstrip, according to city administrator Dhein.

“Mr. and Mrs. Yankowiak are nice people, it’s been very amicable,” Dhein said. “He’s got a position and he’s got a right to have an opinion about somebody taking his land. I guess it’s up to the council to decide whether to take his land or not.”

If the plan for the crosswinds runway is approved, the city will proceed to condemn the Yankowiaks’ property after approving a bid and receiving funding from the FAA. They expect this action to occur after they receive FAA funding this summer.

“I can’t afford a lawyer,” Yankowiak said. “So I’m going to the court of public opinion.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/hold-out-holds-on-in-eminent-domain-standoff-over-airport-expansionThanks, But No Thanks! Minnesota Tribes Reject $1.7 Million in Stimulus Fundshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/thanks-but-no-thanks-minnesota-tribes-reject-17-million-in-stimulus-fundsWed, 13 Apr 2011 05:00:00 GMTTom StewardIt’s enough to give government a good name, if not necessarily the federal stimulus program. After all, when’s the last time the recipients of a $1.7 million federal stimulus grant had second thoughts and sent the funding back to Washington? That’s what happened recently with a high-tech project in northern Minnesota in which a government giveaway turned into a rare government giveback.]]>It’s enough to give government a good name, if not necessarily the federal stimulus program. After all, when’s the last time the recipients of a $1.7 million federal stimulus grant had second thoughts and sent the funding back to Washington? That’s what happened recently with a high-tech project in northern Minnesota in which a government giveaway turned into a rare government giveback.Government giveaway turns into government giveback

It’s enough to give government a good name, if not necessarily the federal stimulus program. After all, when’s the last time the recipients of a $1.7 million federal stimulus grant had second thoughts and sent the funding back to Washington? That’s what happened recently with a high-tech project in northern Minnesota in which a government giveaway turned into a rare government giveback. In fact, it’s one of only three out of 233 broadband stimulus awards valued at $3.94 billion to turn down the federal funding, according to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.

In July 2010, the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) selected a stimulus project proposal from the Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth Bands of Ojibwe to create seven new public computer centers and to renovate ten existing facilities in partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs on their northern Minnesota reservations.

Yet when the tribes did the math for the $2.5 million Headwaters Tribal Community Center project, it just didn’t add up. The federal stimulus grant contributed $1,722,371 toward the broadband project, while the tribes and their Boys and Girls Club partners’ projected share of the project was to be $793,731—about a third of the total cost. According to Leech Lake Band officials, after closer scrutiny of the project, they concluded that the final price tag for the project would be significantly more than the amount submitted in the grant application.

"The grant was written poorly," said Leech Lake Accountant Nancy Stevens. "The project would have cost more than originally thought."

How much more? Hundreds of thousands of dollars that would ultimately be billed to the Leech Lake Band, according Stevens.

To be sure, it took awhile to reach the decision to return the grant money to the US Treasury. A representative from the White Earth Band of Ojibwe told the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota that they would have liked to pursue the program, but were unable to acquire another grant to cover the shortfall. Leech Lake Band officials also attempted to revise the program's allotments, but Stevens said they were rejected by the feds.

Ultimately, it was the Leech Lake Band’s decision to forgo the project due to a lack of funds to cover. "Leech Lake was the contact for the program. If the other tribes didn't agree to pay, the burden would have fallen on Leech Lake," Stevens said.

Federal officials did not respond to FFM’s attempts to discuss the stimulus project. The objective of the Headwaters Tribal Computer Centers was to encourage computer-based homework and learning, train more parents of children enrolled in Boys and Girls Clubs, and increase the technological capabilities of small businesses on the reservations through the Bemidji State University Small Business Development Center.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/thanks-but-no-thanks-minnesota-tribes-reject-17-million-in-stimulus-fundsMN Companies, Unions and Governments Get Millions in Subsidies Under Stealth Provisionhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/mn-companies-unions-and-governments-get-millions-in-subsidies-under-stealth-provisionTue, 05 Apr 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminThe beneficiaries of the latest taxpayer-subsidized surprise uncovered in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) include a who’s who of Minnesota businesses, unions, cities, counties and schools, according to investigators for the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.]]>The beneficiaries of the latest taxpayer-subsidized surprise uncovered in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) include a who’s who of Minnesota businesses, unions, cities, counties and schools, according to investigators for the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.

Big names in public and private sector line up for $15 million in health care bailout funds

Minneapolis, MN—The beneficiaries of the latest taxpayer-subsidized surprise uncovered in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) include a who’s who of Minnesota businesses, unions, cities, counties and schools, according to investigators for the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.

Altogether, 235 Minnesota employers and unions have taken advantage of a previously obscure provision in the health care law that gives federal subsidies to supplement health insurance costs for early retirees under the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP). To date, Minnesota employers and unions have received more than $15 million in ERRP payments, nineteenth among the states for total funding received under the reimbursement program.High profile Minnesota corporate recipients include Allianz, American Crystal Sugar, Ameriprise Financial, Andersen Windows, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cargill, Ecolab, Hormel, Mayo Clinic, Medtronic, Minnesota Life, SUPERVALU, Travelers, Toro, US Bank and Xcel.Some of Minnesota biggest local governments also cashed in, including the Metropolitan Council, the Metropolitan Airports Commission and the State of Minnesota. Minnesota counties that successfully sought the subsidy include: Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, and St. Louis. Finally, the cities of Bloomington, Duluth, Minneapolis, and St. Paul and school districts such as Anoka-Hennepin, Edina, St. Cloud, St. Paul and Stillwater all were successful in seeking additional funds as part of the federal health care law.Several Minnesota unions also got a big share of the federal health care funds, including Minnesota Council Number # 5 of AFSCME, Carpenters & Joiners Welfare Fund, Education Minnesota, 789 United Food & Commercial Workers, Minnesota Teamsters Construction Division, Sheet Metal # 10 Benefit Fund, and the Twin City Pipe Trades. The PPACA which became law one year ago, appropriated $5 billion in financial assistance that is available to maintain health insurance for early retirees 55 and older who do not yet qualify for Medicare coverage. In a 23,471 word, 21 page federal register filing, eligible “employment-based plans” were defined to include plans maintained by a private employer, state or local government, employee organization, voluntary employees’ benefit association (VEBA), nonprofit organization, religious entity or a multiemployer plan.The program was scheduled to end on January 1, 2014 when state health insurance exchanges are up and running, according to the healthcare.gov website. As word of the government give-away has spread, however, there seems to have been something of a run on the fund. In 2010, the fund was drawn down $535 million funneled to 253entities. Since then, the number of recipients has skyrocketed to more than 5,000, leading the federal government to abruptly decide to stop accepting applications on May 6, 2011.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/mn-companies-unions-and-governments-get-millions-in-subsidies-under-stealth-provisionLake County Taxpayers Take All the Risk While St. Louis County Residents Share the Rewardshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/lake-county-taxpayers-take-all-the-riskFri, 25 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminMaybe there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but a deal in the works to bring a controversial $70 million broadband network to Lake and St. Louis counties comes pretty close, depending on which side of the county line you pay taxes.]]>Maybe there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but a deal in the works to bring a controversial $70 million broadband network to Lake and St. Louis counties comes pretty close, depending on which side of the county line you pay taxes.County board commits local taxpayer dollars despite prior pledge

Two Harbors, MN—Maybe there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but a deal in the works to bring a controversial $70 million broadband network to Lake and St. Louis counties comes pretty close, depending on which side of the county line you pay taxes.

About 60 percent of residents in the fiber optic network’s proposed service area live in Lake County, while the rest reside in St. Louis County. But Lake County taxpayers will bear 100 percent of the local costs and risk, while their eastern St. Louis County counterparts will enjoy the same broadband benefits—free and clear.

“I was very adamant about making sure St. Louis County was fiscally protected against them coming back against us for financial failure,” said Chris Dahlberg, St. Louis County Commissioner.

While St. Louis County contributed $25,000 to a preliminary project study, Lake County potentially has $60 million on the line: $3.5 million in matching funds to secure the project and $56.4 million in long-term liability for a federal loan. The price tag for their potential liability adds up to about $5,500 per Lake County resident. The remaining funding for the $70 million network comes in the form of a nearly $10 million federal RUS grant.

In the process, Lake County commissioners have backtracked on their commitment to protect Lake County taxpayers from any financial exposure. “We had hoped to get this important project financed without any risk to the taxpayers,” Lake County Commissioner Tom Clifford acknowledged in a February press release. “But sometimes the cost of squeezing out the last bit of risk just gets to be too high.”

It’s another wrinkle in the proposed Lake County fiber optic network, one of the biggest and most controversial stimulus-funded broadband projects in the country. The project illustrates how strings attached to federal funding can drive decision making by local officials seeking to capitalize on federal dollars, even at the cost of subsidizing residents of another county.

Lake County’s application for federal broadband stimulus funding was initially rejected by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), until expanding the service area to include residents in four eastern St. Louis County cities and a handful of townships. St. Louis County’s cooperation, however, came at a price.

“Some of these federal programs often create perverse incentives and throw economic common sense out the window,” Commissioner Dahlberg said. “My concern is for St. Louis County. Are they going to come back and say, although this is Lake County’s project, you were benefiting from it and you have to help with the loss? We wanted absolution from any future entanglements.”

From the project’s onset, Lake County commissioners insisted no local taxpayer money would be at risk, intending to issue revenue bonds that would be repaid through revenues generated by the fiber optic network. The Lake County website still posts a disclaimer saying the system will be financed by operational revenue from the network. An online fiber FAQ fact sheet states that “Lake County is acting as a conduit to receive federal financing to build out the network. The taxpayers will not be responsible for any debt. This was one of the major reasons for the county moving forward on this.”

Commissioners broke their pledge and committed taxpayer funding to the project, however, when high interest rates and low demand in the bond markets led to concerns among federal officials about the project’s viability. “RUS discomfort with this financing structure made the County reevaluate its approach. The County decided to directly invest its own funds in the project and not risk losing the award,” according to the county press release.

One commissioner said he voted to commit millions of taxpayer funds in order to save millions more. According to Commissioner Paul Bergman: “By making a direct investment, we were able to reduce the amount of additional funds by over $2 million and we can avoid $5.7 million of interest expenses over 10 years. These savings come directly back to the County.”

At a February 8 county board meeting, Lake County commissioners also fired the company overseeing the project, National Public Broadband, after concerns surfaced over financial problems at a Vermont telecom once managed by NPB’s chief executive officer. A complaint has been filed by Mediacom, a private provider in the service area, calling for an investigation by the USDA federal inspector general into allegations Lake County improperly obtained funding for the network.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/lake-county-taxpayers-take-all-the-riskArbitrary teacher contract negotiation deadline costs taxpayershttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/arbitrary-teacher-contract-negotiation-deadline-costs-taxpayersMon, 21 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMTAdminMinneapolis, MN—Minnesota’s school districts have been fined more than $3.5 million since 2006 for failing to settle teacher contract negotiations by a state-imposed deadline, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis.]]>Minneapolis, MN—Minnesota’s school districts have been fined more than $3.5 million since 2006 for failing to settle teacher contract negotiations by a state-imposed deadline, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis.Minnesota school districts have been penalized $3.5 million since 2006

Minneapolis, MN—Minnesota’s school districts have been fined more than $3.5 million since 2006 for failing to settle teacher contract negotiations by a state-imposed deadline, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis.

Under current Minnesota law, every two years a school district and their local teachers’ union must both sign a collective bargaining agreement by January 15. These negotiations occur in even numbered years. The state imposes a penalty on districts that fail to meet the deadline. This penalty results in a one-time reduction in weighted state aid equal to $25 per pupil.

Financial pressures on local school boards have exacerbated the problem in recent years, resulting in over $2.5 million in fines levied by the state in 2010. By comparison, districts were fined a total of just $86,454 between 2000 and 2005.

Total penalties levied statewide set a record in 2010, and thefine imposed on Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) was the highest in state history. Contrary to media reports and MPS communications, which estimated an $800,000 fine, the actual penalty was substantially higher ($945,024) due to the state’s policy of weighing per pupil aid as a formula for calculating the fine.

“The current framework for negotiating teacher contracts is dramatically skewed in favor of the teachers’ union,” said Freedom Foundation of Minnesota vice president Jonathan Blake. “And the fines, while significant, are only part of the story. The hidden cost of the current system is far greater. Those costs are incurred and exacerbate the problems facing school districts and their long-term financial stability every time a district is forced by state law to acquiesce to the teachers’ union in order to avoid the prospect of a huge fine by the state.”

The data help illustrate the flawed, one-sided nature of contract negotiations between the teachers’ union and local school districts.

Blake continued: “Under the current system, districts are punished for standing their ground, while the union is rewarded for standing theirs. That policy hurts local governments and taxpayers.“

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/arbitrary-teacher-contract-negotiation-deadline-costs-taxpayersSubsidized Energy-Saving Programs Also Provide Big Rewards for Nonprofit Providerhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/subsidized-energy-saving-programs-also-provide-big-rewards-for-nonprofit-providerSun, 13 Mar 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminMinneapolis, MN—The Minneapolis-based nonprofit Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) has marketed residential energy conservation programs under the slogan, “Save Energy, Save Money!” However, according to tax records on file with the Minnesota Attorney General, helping utility customers save energy and money on their monthly bills also pays off for CEE, one of Minnesota’s biggest energy efficiency nonprofit organizations.]]>Minneapolis, MN—The Minneapolis-based nonprofit Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) has marketed residential energy conservation programs under the slogan, “Save Energy, Save Money!” However, according to tax records on file with the Minnesota Attorney General, helping utility customers save energy and money on their monthly bills also pays off for CEE, one of Minnesota’s biggest energy efficiency nonprofit organizations.Funding from federal stimulus to Exxon leads to banner income in 2009 despite recession

Minneapolis, MN—The Minneapolis-based nonprofit Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) has marketed residential energy conservation programs under the slogan, “Save Energy, Save Money!” However, according to tax records on file with the Minnesota Attorney General, helping utility customers save energy and money on their monthly bills also pays off for CEE, one of Minnesota’s biggest energy efficiency nonprofit organizations.

“We’ve been remarkably successful beyond our wildest dreams,” Sheldon Strom, CEE president told the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM). “We were struggling for quite awhile and all of a sudden every program we were working on turned to gold. We’re trying to enjoy it while we can.”

Total compensation for the five highest paid CEE employees ranged from a high of $275,323 for the president to $175,003 for the director of indoor air quality. By comparison, the governor of the State of Minnesota gets paid $120,303 and the state’s Commerce Commissioner, who oversees some CEE projects, earns $108,400.

CEE officials said compensation amounts are competitive with going rates and not at odds with the nonprofit’s stated mission to make the most efficient use of both natural and economic resources.

“Our highly compensated staff are exceptional,” Strom said. “We didn’t just make up these numbers. We had a big accounting firm do a salary survey. They’re the ones that said these salaries are in the ballpark.”

“We have a very large array of programs,” Strom said. “Our primary purpose of these programs is to save people money by saving energy.”

CEE is also on track to receive more than $40 million from Xcel Energy and $588,000 from Centerpoint Energy in 2010-2012 under a utility-run energy efficiency project mandated by state law. Xcel Energy’s funding for CEE has doubled from $7.4 million in 2009 to $14.8 million for 2012. Ratepayer-funded energy programs are currently under review at the state legislature as part of a systematic evaluation of state energy incentive programs.

“We don’t have anything to hide. I think we’re doing a fabulous job,” said Carl Nelson, CEE program and policy manager. “We have people who work hard. We’re trying to save people money on their energy bills and at a good cost to ratepayers. We’re responsible stewards whether that be government spending or ratepayer money. We’re very committed to maximizing the impact of those dollars and reducing energy bills at the least cost. That’s what we’re all about.”

Sound-proofing and energy-proofing thousands of structures also appears to be recession-proof. The non-profit has accumulated more than $20 million in assets, including more than $15 million in cash and investments, according to 2009 tax filings.

“We have a lot of money we’ve saved up over the years. These are retained earnings that we’re going to reinvest in other things we’re doing,” Strom said. “We’ve been working with our board on how we can use this money as effectively as possible.”

CEE maintains a “sizable fund balance” as a reserve against the “adverse effects of political and economic cycles” and plans to use part of the reserve to establish the Energy Technology Center that has been 20 years in the planning, according to Robert Henderson, director of operations.

In the meantime, some of CEE’s financial surplus was used recently to hire an improv comedian to train staff. CEE brought in popular Twin Cities standup comic Stevie Ray—at no taxpayer or ratepayer expense CEE stressed—to help staff learn how to be more effective in their own standup sales routines when pitching consumers at workshops.

“We try not just to have solid technical information but we also try to make it entertaining and that was the reason why we brought in a comedian,” Nelson said. “He doesn’t do the workshops or anything, but helps polish up their presentations off what any marketing company would do to try and make it relevant to the audience.”

CEE also spent $57,600 on public policy lobbying efforts in 2009, according to IRS records. “As a non-profit, CEE believes that an integral part of its mission is to advocate for public policies that are in the best interest of all of society. With this in mind, CEE has shaped public policy for the most efficient use of natural and economic resources,” according to the group’s website.

Title

Total Compensation

President

$275,323

Director of Engineering & Business Dev.

$241,406

Lighting Consultant

$189,466

Treasurer

$180,067

Director of Indoor Air Quality

$175,003

***Source: Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, 2009 IRS filing by the Center for Energy and Environment

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/subsidized-energy-saving-programs-also-provide-big-rewards-for-nonprofit-providerHHS Grants 14,000 Minnesota Enrollees an Exemption to Health Care Reform Acthttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/hhs-grants-14000-minnesota-enrollees-an-exemption-to-health-care-reform-actThu, 27 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released their updated list of waivers granted from the Affordable Care Act enacted into law in 2010. To date, a total of 733 approved applicants have been granted the waiver nationally, totaling nearly 2.2 million enrollees. ]]>The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released their updated list of waivers granted from the Affordable Care Act enacted into law in 2010. To date, a total of 733 approved applicants have been granted the waiver nationally, totaling nearly 2.2 million enrollees. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released their updated list of waivers granted from the Affordable Care Act enacted into law in 2010. To date, a total of 733 approved applicants have been granted the waiver nationally, totaling nearly 2.2 million enrollees. The list includes 24 Minnesota entities and approximately 14,000 enrollees.

The waiver grants businesses, unions, school districts, cities, and other eligible insurers a one-year exemption from a key provision of the health care reform legislation that would otherwise increase the cost of premiums. In the meantime, the law requires insurers to phase out those annual limits on benefits. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notes that waivers are only approved if they are “necessary to prevent either a large increase in premiums or a significant decrease in access to coverage.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/hhs-grants-14000-minnesota-enrollees-an-exemption-to-health-care-reform-actWinona Man Continues Mission for Property Rights on Home Front from Iraq and Afghanistanhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/winona-man-continues-mission-for-property-rights-on-home-front-from-iraq-and-afghanistanThu, 27 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminIt appears that 2011 will continue to be another challenging year for many looking to sell their home, particularly given a glut of inventory sure to be on the market from an increase in foreclosures. That’s just the latest hurdle, however, for a Winona man who says a controversial city rental ordinance not only restricts his property rights, but also his ability to sell his three bedroom house in this southeastern Minnesota city.]]>It appears that 2011 will continue to be another challenging year for many looking to sell their home, particularly given a glut of inventory sure to be on the market from an increase in foreclosures. That’s just the latest hurdle, however, for a Winona man who says a controversial city rental ordinance not only restricts his property rights, but also his ability to sell his three bedroom house in this southeastern Minnesota city.

It appears that 2011 will continue to be another challenging year for many looking to sell their home, particularly given a glut of inventory sure to be on the market from an increase in foreclosures. That’s just the latest hurdle, however, for a Winona man who says a controversial city rental ordinance not only restricts his property rights, but also his ability to sell his three bedroom house in this southeastern Minnesota city.

Ethan Dean recently wrapped up his fourth tour of duty as a U.S. advisor in Iraq, but soon he’ll be carrying on the battle from his new post in Afghanistan—his battle, that is, with the City of Winona.

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota recently showed how some local governments enforce onerous before-sale residential inspection ordinances, adding to the cost and red tape of buying and selling a house at the worst possible time.

Dean’s campaign on the home front illustrates another sort of controversial city ordinance that he says has cost him the opportunity to sell his $139,900 house that’s located in a prime location near Winona State University.

The conflict involves the so-called "30 percent rule" that limits the number of rental properties to 30 percent of residences per block in this college community. Home owners who live on blocks above the 30 percent cutoff are not only prevented from renting their property, but also in effect from selling to buyers looking to invest in rental housing for college students.

“If it weren’t for the 30 percent rule, I'd have sold my house two years ago,” Dean emailed FFM from Iraq. “There are many in town, some elderly who need the money from their house sale for medical issues. They are being punished for being Winona residents more than anyone.”

Proponents view the measure as a way to preserve the single family character of city neighborhoods particularly near Winona State University by regulating the number of houses rented to college students. Complaints over student parties, vandalism and absentee landlords led to the imposition of the ordinance in 2005, leading to an all-out debate in the local papers ever since.

“It’s not ideal, but it’s working right now and it’s helping to address our problem of density of rental properties around the downtown core area and Winona State,” said Debbie White, a city council member who helped institute the regulation. “We’ve been losing residences and homes and trying to keep a balance in our neighborhoods.”

According to the Winona Housing Association, over 900 individuals and families own and manage certified rental units in the city. Some 70 percent of the properties on Ethan Dean’s block were grandfathered in when the ordinance took effect. As a result, Dean doesn’t qualify for city permission to rent out his house, though almost all of his neighbors do.

“The official legal opinion of realtors' counsel is that the rule constitutes an uncompensated taking of property,” said Jonelle Moore, a Winona realtor with Coldwell Banker. “Those who try to sell properties in blocks with more than 30 percent rental may be forced to take less for their property or unable to sell it at all.”

Dean had never heard of the rule until he put his house up for sale. He says several interested buyers have backed off upon learning there’s no city rental certificate to go with the title. Concerned about paying his mortgage while stationed overseas, Dean rented it out to three students in violation of the ordinance. After learning Dean was working with U.S. troops abroad, however, the city granted him a one-time waiver that expires at the end of April.

“After that, I have no idea what will happen,” Dean emailed. “But I do know with the 30 percent rule the house will not sell. Without it, I’m told by several realtors it would not only sell instantly but for much more than I have it listed at. Very frustrating to say the least.”

A city task force reviewing the rule’s impact in 2009 concluded the ordinance should remain on the books. A summary of the task force’s review from the city planning department said “although it was sympathetic to the fact that some “may” become hardshipped by the Rule, it also expressed concerns that Rule “exceptions” would serve to erode its intent and purpose.”

“That group felt the rule was working fine. We’ve heard a number of times that the rule does restrict property owners like Ethan from doing things and that question it to a certain extent,” said Mark Moeller, Winona city planner. “But the task force recommended the rule be retained.”

Now that Ethan Dean has re-upped for a fifth tour of service in a war zone, Winona officials will have to decide whether they will re-up Dean’s exemption back home on his home. For his foreign service, Dean was just awarded two medals: the Global War On Terror medal and the Superior Civil Service Award medal.

“I don't really understand how someone believes they have the right to tell someone else how and what they can do with their home, but it is a strange world at times, I guess,” Dean said in an email to FFM.

Although another waiver for Dean could open up the simmering controversy all over again, city officials indicated the door’s open to him.

“If he’s thinking he’s going to go back, I think now’s the time to start talking a little bit and we’ll see if we can help him,” Moeller said.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/winona-man-continues-mission-for-property-rights-on-home-front-from-iraq-and-afghanistanMinnesota's Unfunded Liabilities Raise New Concernshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesotas-unfunded-liabilities-raise-new-concernsTue, 25 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminThe Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA) recently released the Minnesota edition of their “Financial State of the State” report. The report reviewed the state’s 2010 audited financial report from the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) and found that the state does not have funds available to pay for future commitments as they come due.]]>The Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA) recently released the Minnesota edition of their “Financial State of the State” report. The report reviewed the state’s 2010 audited financial report from the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) and found that the state does not have funds available to pay for future commitments as they come due.

The Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA) recently released the Minnesota edition of their “Financial State of the State” report. The report reviewed the state’s 2010 audited financial report from the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) and found that the state does not have funds available to pay for future commitments as they come due.

Said Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of IFTA, “A state budget is not balanced if past costs, including those for employees’ retirement benefits, are pushed into the future.”

There are three large state retirement plans: Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS); Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA); and, the Teachers Retirement Association (TRA)– as well as a number of smaller local plans across the state. Minnesota’s pension plans represent “hundreds of thousands” of public employees,according to the State Auditor.

While the size of the unfunded pension liability is a point of contention, with estimates as much as $15 billion according to various studies, there is no question that the current path is unsustainable.

Star Tribune business columnist Eric Wieffering sums it up nicely: “The issue plaguing pensions is the same one facing Social Security: Fewer people are paying into the fund even as the benefit, and number of people relying on it, grows. In 1985 there were four workers for every person drawing a pension from one of Minnesota’s three big plans and the average benefit was $5,053. By 2009 there were fewer than two workers for every beneficiary collecting an average of $18,472.”

The question is: How can state and local governments continue to afford defined benefit retirement plans that the private sector cannot? According to a Pew Center studyreleased in February 2010, Minnesota was ranked 10th as one of the states that paid the lowest percentage of annual required contributions for pension plans. With the budget deficit at the forefront of debate, public pension liabilities should receive significant focus in St. Paul.

A good first step for legislators will be to demand a full, accurate, and transparent accounting of the pension funds’ liabilities. The Minnesota Taxpayers Association (MTA) has compiled significant information on the public pension system in Minnesota. A state mandated examination by the three major funds of the merits and economics of alternative retirement plan design is expected this summer. With increased focus and pressure on solving this glaring problem, Minnesotans can move toward erasing the mounting future debt we’re now set to face for years to come.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesotas-unfunded-liabilities-raise-new-concernsPERSONAL AD: Ideologically rigid teachers’ union desperately seeking Republican membershttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/personal-ad-ideologically-rigid-teachers-union-desperately-seeking-republican-membersTue, 25 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMTAdminIn the latest sign that Education Minnesota is no longer in the public policy driving seat, the teachers’ union has put out a desperate plea to Republican teachers. A January 21 internal memo from Education Minnesota president Tom Dooher to local leaders announces an upcoming statewide strategy session for Republican union members, a group whose opinions the union ...]]>In the latest sign that Education Minnesota is no longer in the public policy driving seat, the teachers’ union has put out a desperate plea to Republican teachers. A January 21 internal memo from Education Minnesota president Tom Dooher to local leaders announces an upcoming statewide strategy session for Republican union members, a group whose opinions the union ...

In the latest sign that Education Minnesota is no longer in the public policy driving seat, the teachers’ union has put out a desperate plea to Republican teachers. A January 21 internal memo from Education Minnesota president Tom Dooher to local leaders announces an upcoming statewide strategy session for Republican union members, a group whose opinions the union has previously shunned or ignored. The memo was provided to the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota by numerous union members. (Click here to view.)

President Dooher’s claim that the union, which has existed in its current form since 1998, has recently “made efforts to involve Education Minnesota Republican members in legislative and political activities” is a tacit admission that the ideologically rigid organization had previously ignored a substantial portion of its membership.

Education Minnesota’s newfound claim of bipartisan cooperation would be laudable if it weren’t so laughable. In the past two years, during their supposedly concerted outreach to conservative members, the union’s political contributions and policy positions were anything but bipartisan.

From January 2009 through September 2010, Education Minnesota spent $1,087,080 in direct political expenditures in support of DFL candidates and liberal committees in the current election cycle. For Republicans: a grand total of $4,950, or less than 0.5% of the total. On the policy front, the union has previously opposed virtually every reasonable K-12 reform, at times even turning on their close allies in the legislature.

Apparently the teachers’ union’s oft-stated commitment to “diversity” does not extend to a diversity of ideas.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/personal-ad-ideologically-rigid-teachers-union-desperately-seeking-republican-membersMinnesota Congressional Delegation Doubles Down on Earmark Extravaganza with 101 Projectshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesota-congressional-delegation-doubles-down-on-earmark-extravaganza-with-101-projectsThu, 16 Dec 2010 06:00:00 GMTAdminMINNEAPOLIS, MN--This lame duck session will be the last for outgoing 18-term Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN). But old habits die hard, including requesting tens of millions of dollars in earmarks in the omnibus appropriations bill before Congress. ]]>MINNEAPOLIS, MN--This lame duck session will be the last for outgoing 18-term Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN). But old habits die hard, including requesting tens of millions of dollars in earmarks in the omnibus appropriations bill before Congress. MINNEAPOLIS, MN--This lame duck session will be the last for outgoing 18-term Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN). But old habits die hard, including requesting tens of millions of dollars in earmarks in the omnibus appropriations bill before Congress. Oberstar leads the Minnesota House delegation in the appropriations process that’s come to be called pork barrel spending, attaching his name to 29 separate requests, including 23 for Minnesota pet projects. On the Senate side of the ledger, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) requested 77 earmarks in the bill, while Senator Al Franken (D-MN) requested 68 earmarks, joining other members of the state delegation on many requests.

Overall, Minnesota’s representatives in Washington have requested 101 earmarks worth a total of $85,271,000, some $17 million more than last fiscal year. What makes the current figure particularly noteworthy is that three members of Minnesota’s delegation (Congressmen Bachmann, Kline and Paulsen) did not request any earmarks, opting out of the controversial process that’s become a lightning rod for many voters. For the previous fiscal year of 2010, the Minnesota delegation boasted 102 earmarks that cost taxpayers more than $68 million.

“It’s a process based not on merit but on political muscle,” said Steve Ellis, vice president of D.C.-based Taxpayers for Common Sense. “We want to shift the funding decisions to be based on merit, competition or formulas with clear criteria and metrics to evaluate them.”

Included in the long list of Minnesota requests is $500,000 for a study on the Northern Lights Express, the high-speed rail connection to Duluth that Oberstar has eyed for years. Recently, some rail projects have come under greater scrutiny, including the Northstar Commuter Rail line that Cong. Oberstar helped champion with a $53.9 million earmark. Combined with Wisconsin Governor-Elect Scott Walker’s request to put all rail projects on hold, which would jeopardize the planned Minneapolis to Milwaukee line, the Northern Lights project seems like a train to nowhere.

Two more Minnesota earmarks were singled out on the U.S. Senate floor as examples of wasteful spending. Senator John McCain lambasted a $246,000 earmark for bovine tuberculosis in Michigan and Minnesota. He also cited a $727,000 earmark to compensate ranchers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan whenever endangered wolves eat their cattle.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gray Wolf program is under intense scrutiny for wasting millions of taxpayer dollars every year to recover endangered wolves that are now overpopulating the West and Midwest," McCain said.

The omnibus appropriations bill now before the Senate runs almost 2,000 pages and totals $1.1 trillion in funding. The measure contains some 6,488 earmarks that will cost taxpayers $8.3 billion.

Minnesota has become accustomed to earmarks over the years, often due to outgoing Congressman Oberstar, who served as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Now, it seems the once powerful committee head is sending taxpayers their final invoice after 36 years in Congress.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesota-congressional-delegation-doubles-down-on-earmark-extravaganza-with-101-projectsWashington's "Slap in the Face" to Rural Minnesota Town and Taxpayershttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/washingtons-slap-in-the-face-to-rural-minnesota-town-and-taxpayers1Fri, 03 Dec 2010 06:00:00 GMTAdminIf you wonder how the federal government runs up trillion dollar budget deficits, folks in McIntosh say the glut of red ink starts with the way Washington does business on a daily basis in places like this rural town of 635 residents.]]>If you wonder how the federal government runs up trillion dollar budget deficits, folks in McIntosh say the glut of red ink starts with the way Washington does business on a daily basis in places like this rural town of 635 residents.

DC decision to pay double the rent and move into new offices angers local government counterparts who stay put and stand up for taxpayers

McIntosh, MN—If you wonder how the federal government runs up trillion dollar budget deficits, folks in McIntosh say the glut of red ink starts with the way Washington does business on a daily basis in places like this rural town of 635 residents.

“Everybody who hears about it is saying ‘is that really how our government is being run?’ It’s wide open here, why don’t they see it?” Mayor Bruce Haaven said.

It began when the Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Serviceannounced plans to moveout of a city-owned office building in December, despite the structure’s new windows, roof, siding, fiber-optic cable and other improvements.

The city did suggest a one dollar per square foot increase in the federal agencies’ rent, but any second thoughts over the potential adverse impact of a rate hike didn’t last long.

Disappointment turned to astonishment and outrage when word got out that the General Services Administration (GSA) agreed to pay more than twice as much as the city’s bid and move into a new building under construction down the street.

Instead of paying $10 a square foot under the city’s proposal, thefeds opted to pay$22.14 a square foot for rent—$37,269 more in rent per year than the cost of being in the city-owned building and almost $375,000 over the life of the ten year lease.

“How can our government justify paying more than twice the rent?” asked Al Bauer, a county conservation official whose board voted unanimously to stay put in the city’s building. “It’s a slap in the taxpayers’ face. If it’s happening in a little deal like this here, what’s happening in the big picture? What’s happening in the big buildings where there’s real money involved?”

In arejection letter, agriculture officials said the city failed to meet unspecified requirements of the solicitation, referring the city to a federal government leasing specialist for details.

As a last resort, McIntosh officials turned to Washington for help. They contacted Congressman Collin Peterson (D-MN), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, who represents them.

“Collin Peterson puts on conferences in the area on economic development and keeping things local,” said Jim Stordahl of the University of Minnesota extension service, another government tenant who’s remaining in the city-owned building. “Collin has considerable clout. I was really disappointed he wasn’t able to do more about it.”

By the time the influential committee chairman weighed in, it was apparently too late, according to Peterson’s staff.

“It wasn’t that the congressman didn’t try, but it was beyond the point of no return in doing the contract,” said Wally Sparby, an aide to Peterson. “Certainly, it’s not the best economics, that’s for sure.”

Potential concerns over accessibility issues may have been a factor, according to Ronald Carlsen, the developer awarded the new lease. The city, however, says it had already made renovations to its building to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and had agreed to make further improvements.

“I think one of the reasons is, if there were ever a lawsuit, it would cost the government many times whatever the rent is going to be,” said Carlsen, a Mantorville, Minnesota developer. “For taxpayers, it’s like getting insurance. Do you try to avoid something before it happens?”

The feds' move out of the McIntosh-owned building will cost the city nearly $30,000 in lost revenue, which amounts to almost ten percent of the city’s annual budget. Mayor Haaven submitted acomplaint to a federal watchdog agencyin September, but has not received a response to date. Meanwhile, Haaven put his federal tenants on notice that they can expect to pay the city double the going rate—the same amount as under their new lease—until they leave in December.

“We’re a little angry. We said if you’re moving out and you’re going to pay him that $22.14 then that’s what you’re going to pay us, until you move out,” Mayor Haaven said.

The city has yet to see the rate hike reflected in rent checks from the feds. For his part, developer Carlsen thinks the city is demanding too much.

“I think they should get a little bit more, but that’s a little too much,” Carlsen said. “But you can always try, you can always ask for something. I agree with that philosophy 100 percent.”

A call to the General Services Administration official in Washington, D.C. who’s familiar with this issue was not returned.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/washingtons-slap-in-the-face-to-rural-minnesota-town-and-taxpayers1MN's Nation-Leading Voter Turnout Rate Offset by Lower Requirements for Voter Registrationhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/mns-nation-leading-voter-turnout-rate-offset-by-lower-requirements-for-voter-registrationFri, 29 Oct 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminOn Tuesday, Minnesota voters can expect to be at or near the top in turnout again. But it's more complicated than that.MINNEAPOLIS, MN--On Tuesday, when voters across the nation go to the polls and cast their votes, Minnesotans can expect to be at or near the top in turnout again. Minnesota is recognized as a perennial leader in voter participation, with eligible voters often turning out at a higher rate than any other state in the nation. Most recently, in 2008, 78 percent of Minnesota’s eligible voters cast a ballot.

While an educated and politically active citizenry are often cited as the foundation for Minnesota’s electoral turnout success, another key factor may be overlooked. Minnesota arguably has some of the nation’s least restrictive election laws on the books.

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) reviewed voting requirements and election laws for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, focusing on standards in five key areas:

♦ Same-day, or Election Day, Registration: Minnesota is one of just eight states (and D.C.) that allow citizens to register and vote on Election Day. In 2008, the number of so-called same day registrations accounted for 18 percent of total votes cast.

♦ Third Party Vouching: Minnesota is one of only five states that allow registered voters or election judges to vouch for the validity and identification of another voter.

♦ Voter Identification: Unlike 18 other states, Minnesota does not require voters to present non-photo identification when casting their ballot.

♦ Photo Identification: Minnesota does not require or request citizens to produce a photo ID to vote, as do 8 other states. Two states, Kansas and Pennsylvania, require first time voters to furnish a photo ID.

♦ Federal Voting Requirements: Minnesota is among 22 states (plus D.C.) that meet the minimum voter identification requirements for new registrants as established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) following the contested 2000 presidential contest.

In 2008, same-day registration resulted in more than a half million Minnesotans (542,247) registering and voting on Election Day, the most among the handful of states that allow the practice. Yet forty-two states do not allow same day registration of voters for various reasons, including concerns over sufficient time to verify the voter’s identity and to prevent potential voter fraud.

The bottom line: Minnesota is one of just two states, along with Iowa, that allow potential voters to take advantage of the three least restrictive ways to cast a ballot: third-party vouching for voters, Election Day voter registration, and the minimum federal identification requirements.

Experts agree, these are key factors in Minnesota’s consistently high voter turnout. Yet there’s also increased concern over voter fraud in the state. Earlier this month, Hennepin County just announced the prosecution of 47 cases of voter fraud from the 2008 election and similar concerns have been raised in other Minnesota counties.

While these cases represent a small percentage of voters, Minnesotans may never know the full extent of improperly cast ballots, given the state’s lenient election laws. With fewer restrictions and more voters, it’s more important than ever for Minnesotans to be vigilant on Election Day.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/mns-nation-leading-voter-turnout-rate-offset-by-lower-requirements-for-voter-registrationOn a Wing and Taxpayers: St. Cloud Has $5 Million Airport Terminal But No Place to Gohttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/on-a-wing-and-taxpayers-st-cloud-has-5-million-airport-terminal-but-no-place-to-goMon, 27 Sep 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminSt. Cloud Regional Airport (STC) touts lots of amenities on its website—a café, ATM, free wi-fi, free parking and a $5 million completely renovated terminal whose capacity went up dramatically from 30 to 200 travelers. There's also a new $750,000 passenger boarding bridge secured with federal stimulus funds to keep travelersout of the elements while catching a flight. One asset, however, the newly renovated airport notably lacks—commercial flights and passengers.]]>St. Cloud Regional Airport (STC) touts lots of amenities on its website—a café, ATM, free wi-fi, free parking and a $5 million completely renovated terminal whose capacity went up dramatically from 30 to 200 travelers. There's also a new $750,000 passenger boarding bridge secured with federal stimulus funds to keep travelersout of the elements while catching a flight. One asset, however, the newly renovated airport notably lacks—commercial flights and passengers.No Commercial Flights, But Airport Still Hoping to Land More Federal Funds

ST. CLOUD, MN—St. Cloud Regional Airport (STC) touts lots of amenities on its website—a café, ATM, free wi-fi, free parking and a $5 million completely renovated terminal whose capacity went up dramatically from 30 to 200 travelers. There's also a new $750,000 passenger boarding bridge secured with federal stimulus funds to keep travelers out of the elements while catching a flight. One asset, however, the newly renovated airport notably lacks—commercial flights and passengers.

"We're here to serve the public and serve them well and have adequate facilities," Bill Towle, airport director, told the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota. "I would say the airport is a utility and we need adequate facilities to serve the public."

Currently, an average of about one charter flight a month with 130 or so passengers uses the eerily empty 9,000 square foot glass-fronted facility. Potential passengers checking the airport’s website are notified there’s “no commercial air service” available. Delta Connection flights between St. Cloud and Minneapolis were grounded at the end of 2009 due to weak customer demand. Both national rental car agencies pulled out of their airport offices months ago.

By then, it was too late. $3.125 million in federal aviation grants from user fees on fuel and tickets, $1.131 million in state airport funds, and $767,000 in local sales taxes were already spent on what's in danger of becoming a terminal project in more ways than one.

"One thing we did not see is that Delta was going to pull out of here. That was an absolute shock," Towle said. "We might not have done this improvement if we knew they were going to be gone."

Soon the six Transportation Security Administration (TSA) baggage screeners based in St. Cloud will also depart, along with their high-tech, high-cost equipment. Assigned to other airports in the region for several months, the screeners have been offered jobs elsewhere.

“There’s no commercial flights, so there’s no need for screening,” said Luis Casanova, TSA spokesman. “We’re pulling our screeners out in November and at some point, the equipment will be moved, too.”

Not so long ago, federal, state, and local transportation planners envisioned the St. Cloud facility as a tier-two “reliever airport” to ease air traffic congestion into Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, setting in motion the $5 million terminal upgrade and other spending for infrastructure improvements.

Officials forecast 25,000 or more commercial passengers would fly through STC in 2010 with a steady increase in traffic in future years, according to the project’s 2006 master plan. Without Delta, however, about 1,000 passengers have boarded a handful of Sun Country charter flights to a Nevada casino resort this year.

“We got all those numbers approved by the FAA. The likely growth if we continued even as a status quo put us at 26-27,000 enplanements a year,” Towle said.

The controversy refocuses attention on the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program, which some critics say too often results in misplaced priorities and aviation funding. In the last decade, St. Cloud Regional Airport has received more than $24 million in FAA airport improvement grants, including funding for the terminal project, according to OMB Watch, an online database that tracks government spending. Another national watchdog group indicates the St. Cloud airport received clearance for the terminal expansion despite the project's low ranking of 35 out of 100 on the FAA's own priority ratings scale. The FAA states the rating “is the first evaluation factor and serves to categorize airport development in accordance with agency goals and objectives."

Meantime, St. Cloud officials have launched an unusual campaign to attract another carrier, approaching local businesses for travel pledges in hopes of demonstrating significant local demand for air travel. With results falling short of the goal so far, the effort may depend on whether the city proves successful in obtaining a more familiar revenue stream--another $500,000 federal grant now under consideration at the FAA.

"Some of the ways we'd use that grant money would be to offset costs from start up of service," Towle said. "Additionally, if there's any losses at the beginning maybe we could help reduce the cost of those losses...and maybe also help with marketing."

Despite a shortage of commercial flights out of STC, there's no shortage in requests for federal dollars. Senator Al Franken's website lists a $500,000 earmark request for improved runway lighting for the St. Cloud Regional Airport, while Senator Amy Klobuchar's websitelists a $1,000,000 earmark request for the same project.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/on-a-wing-and-taxpayers-st-cloud-has-5-million-airport-terminal-but-no-place-to-goNorthstar Running An Operating Deficit of More Than $1 Million a Monthhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/northstar-running-an-operating-deficit-of-more-than-1-million-a-monthFri, 17 Sep 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminThe Northstar Commuter Rail line between Big Lake and Minneapolis has run up an operating deficit of more than $1 million per month so far this year, according to figures obtained by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota.]]>The Northstar Commuter Rail line between Big Lake and Minneapolis has run up an operating deficit of more than $1 million per month so far this year, according to figures obtained by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota.Good Deal for Riders Leads to $7.5 Million Subsidy So Far This Year

The Northstar Commuter Rail line between Big Lake and Minneapolis has run up an operating deficit of more than $1 million per month so far this year, according to figures obtained by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota.

Newly available statistics show Northstar passengers have paid about 17 percent of the actual cost of operating the commuter rail line, leaving taxpayers to pay the remainder, a total subsidy of more than $7.5 million through July 31st. When Northstar began service in November 2009, officials projected that passenger fares would cover about 20 percent of the operating costs of the commuter trains.

The average passenger fare to date is $3.74 per ride, while taxpayers kicked in an $18.74 subsidy per ride. The total average cost was $22.37 for each one-way trip taken on Northstar in the first seven months of operation in 2010.

The so-called “farebox recovery” numbers reveal a wide gap between the cost of operating Northstar and the revenue generated by riders of the controversial commuter rail line. The results were provided to Anoka County Commissioners by the Northstar Corridor Development Authority.

The key figures through July, 2010 include:

Average cost per one-way trip: $22.37

Average passenger fare per one-way trip: $3.74 (17%)

Average taxpayer subsidy per one-way trip: $18.74 (83%)

Total amount of passenger fares: $1,517,081

Total amount of taxpayer subsidy: $7,559,765

Total cost to operate Northstar: $9,076,846

Total number of passengers: 405,702

The operating deficit comes at a time when regional rail authorities in several metro counties are planning to raise rail tax levies significantly. The Anoka County Regional Rail Authority recently voted to increase its tax levy up to 45 percent, a $2 million hike. The Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority just approved a tax levy increase of up to 20 percent, a $3 million jump if it receives final approval in December . The tax hikes will be used in part to begin expanding train service to St. Cloud, despite low ridership on the current Northstar Link shuttle busses from St. Cloud to the Big Lake rail station.

The Anoka County Regional Rail Authority was fifth highest on the list of Minnesota local governments spending taxpayer dollars to lobby in Washington, D.C, recently disclosed by FFM. According to federal lobbying records, the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority has spent $369,000 of taxpayer funding to lobby federal officials since 2006.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/northstar-running-an-operating-deficit-of-more-than-1-million-a-monthWant to Put Your House Up For Sale? Better Ask the Government Firsthttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/want-to-put-your-houseup-for-sale-better-ask-the-government-firsMon, 13 Sep 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminIt’s tough enough to sell a house with home sales in the Twin Cities undergoing the biggest decline in the country, down 42 percent in July year to year. Yet some local governments make it even tougher for homeowners by imposing some of the country’s most onerous before-sale residential inspection ordinances, adding to the cost and red tape of buying and selling a house at the worst possible time.]]>It’s tough enough to sell a house with home sales in the Twin Cities undergoing the biggest decline in the country, down 42 percent in July year to year. Yet some local governments make it even tougher for homeowners by imposing some of the country’s most onerous before-sale residential inspection ordinances, adding to the cost and red tape of buying and selling a house at the worst possible time.Should local governments reconsider "point-of-sale" ordinances in dismal housing market?

MINNEAPOLIS, MN—It’s tough enough to sell a house with home sales in the Twin Cities undergoing the biggest decline in the country, down 42 percent in July year to year. Yet some local governments make it even tougher for homeowners by imposing some of the country’s most onerous before-sale residential inspection ordinances, adding to the cost and red tape of buying and selling a house at the worst possible time.

Currently, fourteen metro-area municipalities have so-called “point-of-sale” ordinances in place, requiring home sellers to pay for a city inspection prior to selling their property. (In some cases, the ordinances are referred to as “time-of-sale” and “truth in housing” inspections.) In fact, in many cases, sellers are required to pay for the inspection before being permitted toput their homeup for sale.These inspections are in addition to, not in lieu of, the private inspections for which home buyers routinely pay $300 or more.

That’s because, as several cities readily admit, these ordinances are not intended to help the buyer or seller. They are intended to help the city.

On its website, the City of Richfield states “inspections are not for the benefit of buyer or seller, but are a community effort to maintain the quality of Richfield’s houses and neighborhoods.” Common code violations cited by Richfield inspectors include bare wood, peeling paint, missing or deteriorated window glazing, and clogged gutters.

The laws require sellers to undergo a comprehensive city inspection for potential code violations at an initial cost that varies from $50 to $200, often before allowing the property to go on the market.

“There are already fixed costs when you buy and sell a property and so having these extra costs piled on top of the transaction can really break up a deal,” said Christine Berger of the Minnesota Association of Realtors. “You can potentially lose your dream home. I call them transaction killers.”

Applications typically include a disclaimer like the City of Osseo’s waiver stating the inspection “does not constitute a guarantee or warranty to any person as to the condition of buildings inspected.” The City of St. Paul “does not guarantee or warranty the accuracy of the report,” according to its website.

Homeowners can get slapped with a fix-it list of repairs needed to bring the property into compliance with city codes. Though some cities issue “disclosure only” reports that do not require action, other municipalities require the property owner or the buyer in some cases to make improvements that go beyond potential safety hazards.

“Who among us in our homes doesn’t have something that would get flagged for some reason or other? The health and safety issues are obviously paramount to us,” said Eric Myers of the North Metro Realtors Association. “But we’ve had them flag a bit of mold along the trim in the bathtub where you just haven’t scrubbed it lately.”

In the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park, inspectors find problems and order repairs in the overwhelming majority of houses being listed, according to city officials. Even if the house doesn’t sell or is taken off the market, the city requires owners to correct not just code violations but so-called “property deficiencies.”

Officials contend the inspections are more important than ever in an economic downturn to protect potential buyers who may not be able to afford a private one. With an estimated 1,000 vacant and foreclosed houses in Brooklyn Park, officials also insist the inspections are necessary to prevent neighborhood blight.

“I don’t think it’s accurate if you want to talk about too much government,” said Robert Schreier, Brooklyn Park’s community development director. “It’s providing a service to the community. We never hear complaints from people buying the houses. The people that are moving in are glad for the inspections.”

While there are no available statistics to measure the impact of point of sale ordinances on housing sales or costs, realtors say cities should offer buyers and sellers incentives, rather than roadblocks, to reduce the glut of foreclosures and attract buyers.

“Essentially what the city is saying is that you Mr. or Mrs. Seller can’t sell unless we say so, unless you have a city inspection and then make all the repairs,” Myers said. “Nowhere else in the country do we know of where they apply the entire code to delay the transaction, as opposed to focusing on a few items like water saving showerheads or energy efficiency items.”

Point of sale inspections may put the onus on sellers today, but it will be on Brooklyn Park city officials before long. The city council will review whether or not to sunset what’s viewed as the most stringent point of sale ordinance in the Twin Cities—and possibly the nation—in 2012.

“I think when the economy turns around, there’s a question of whether the program would continue,” Schreier said. “I think for this time, however, it’s a good program.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/want-to-put-your-houseup-for-sale-better-ask-the-government-firsPrivatization of City Liquor Store a Win-win for Taxpayers in Cottonwoodhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/privatization-of-city-liquor-store-a-win-win-for-taxpayers-in-cottonwoodWed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminAfter years of mounting operating losses, the City of Cottonwood recently got out of the liquor business for good. Even though it was a local monopoly in this small city, the Cottonwood liquor store ran up $20,000 in losses in 2009.]]>After years of mounting operating losses, the City of Cottonwood recently got out of the liquor business for good. Even though it was a local monopoly in this small city, the Cottonwood liquor store ran up $20,000 in losses in 2009.

No more taxpayer subsidies as former municipal liquor store goes on tax rolls

Cottonwood, MN--When the state’s next Analysis of Municipal Liquor Store Operations annual report is released, at least one southwestern Minnesota city will no longer be on the list of losers.

After years of mounting operating losses, the City of Cottonwood recently got out of the liquor business for good. Even though it was a local monopoly in this small city, the Cottonwood liquor store ran up $20,000 in losses in 2009. Data from the State Auditor’s office shows the Cottonwood liquor store lost nearly $43,000 in 2008, one of the biggest total losses among municipal liquor stores in the entire state. The net loss of the liquor store represented nearly 3% of the city’s total expenditures in 2008, higher than the entire budget for the Park and Recreation Department or Community Center.

The on and off sale “muni” was becoming a drain on the tight city budget. In the face of declining sales and mounting operating losses, the city was faced with a tough decision: to pursue additional investments in the site or cut their losses and move on. Ultimately, city leaders decided they needed to get out of this non-essential business.

“The final decision to sell the Liquor Store was primarily because of the operating losses that could no longer be tolerated,” said Cottonwood City Administrator Greg Isaackson.“We reached the conclusion that the City could no longer absorb such operating losses, because we were ending up using general fund dollars to pay some of the liquor store expenses.This could not be continued.”

In closing the doors of a community institution that dates back to the days of prohibition in 1937, however, Cottonwood opened the door to new opportunity. When the Cottonwood City Council put the muni up for sale, a local businessman saw opportunity knocking and snapped it up for $75,000.

“There was a need in the community, and there was potential to make money,” said Tom Handeland, new owner of the former city run liquor store. “The city thought they could use a restaurant, and I could provide it.”

New owner Handeland took over the location in November and opened up the new and improved LeRoy’s Food and Spirits. No stranger to the hospitality business, Handeland already owns and operates a successful restaurant in nearby Marshall. He gave the business a complete makeover, renovating the bar and expanding operations by investing in a new restaurant on the premises. The new upgrades include a totally rebuilt kitchen stocked with brand new grills and fryers, turning the former muni liquor operation into a full-scale restaurant.

Rather than a liability, the former city store is now a moneymaker on the property tax rolls. The taxable market value of LeRoy’s Food and Spirits is set at $113,000, according to Handeland, meaning the city will make money instead of losing it. Taking the business off the city’s books further avoids any other opportunity to cost the taxpayers money down the line.

The privatization of the city liquor store comes at a critical time given recent reductions in Local Government Aid (LGA) payments that have cut into the city budget. The City of Cottonwood saw a reduction of $76,674 in LGA funding in 2009 and 2010.

“The sale of the liquor store will help to off-set LGA cuts because the city will not longer be using general fund dollars to help pay for liquor store operating bills,” City Manager Isaackson said.

“The primary conclusion is that we should have sold the liquor store a lot sooner than we did,” said Isaackson. “Each city has to make its own decision. In our case it made the most sense to sell the liquor store to private ownership.”

When the grills get fired up and the fryers boiling at LeRoy’s Food and Spirits, there’ll be no more taxpayer losses and budget deficits on the menu in Cottonwood.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/privatization-of-city-liquor-store-a-win-win-for-taxpayers-in-cottonwoodFederal Lobbying by Minnesota's Local Governments Flies Under the Radarhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/federal-lobbying-by-minnesotas-local-governments-flies-under-the-radarThu, 19 Aug 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminA Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act filings finds that Minnesota’s local governments and their associations spent at least $5.217 million lobbying the federal government from 2006 through the first half of 2010. Annual lobbying expenditures have risen each year and are on pace to set a new record in 2010, with at least $729,000 spent the first half of the year. However, much of this lobbying flies under the radar, as cities are not required to report federal lobbying expenditures.]]>A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act filings finds that Minnesota’s local governments and their associations spent at least $5.217 million lobbying the federal government from 2006 through the first half of 2010. Annual lobbying expenditures have risen each year and are on pace to set a new record in 2010, with at least $729,000 spent the first half of the year. However, much of this lobbying flies under the radar, as cities are not required to report federal lobbying expenditures.

Local governments have already spentat least $729,000 of taxpayer money this year to lobby policymakers in Washington, DC

If federal lobbying records are any indication, Minnesota’s local governments are increasingly turning to our nation’s capital in search of funding for local programs. A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act filings finds that Minnesota’s local governments and their associations spent at least $5.217 million lobbying the federal government from 2006 through the first half of 2010.[i] Annual lobbying expenditures have risen each year and are on pace to set a new record in 2010, with at least $729,000 spent the first half of the year.

So far in 2010, the biggest spenders have been the City of Minneapolis ($90,000), the City of Moorhead ($80,000), and Scott County ($60,000).

Overall, the biggest spenders since 2006 have been Scott County ($815,000), the City of Moorhead ($620,000), Hennepin County ($405,000), the North Metro Crossing Coalition ($375,000), and the Anoka County Regional Railroad Authority ($369,000).

"I do believe that given the multitude of issues at the federal level that directly impact the cost of county government that it is important the county have a voice and be heard,” said Gary Shelton, Scott County Administrator. “I also believe it has been money well spent."

Consequently, Minnesota’s local governments are able to spend a great deal of taxpayer money on Washington lobbyists, largely out of public view.

“Local governments are spending millions of tax dollars to lobby for millions more,” said Freedom Foundation of Minnesota Vice President Jonathan Blake.“At a time when people are demanding accountability in government and an end to reckless spending, that just doesn’t make sense.”

Blake continued: “When local governments use taxpayer money to lobby legislators in St. Paul, they are required to report those activities to the state. We should require the same level of transparency when local governments lobby policymakers in Washington.”

Local Government Rankings: Total Federal Lobbying Expenditures (2006-2010*)

[i]Under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, federal lobbyists file quarterly reports with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Secretary of the State detailing their lobbying activities on behalf of clients. Filers are instructed to “a good faith estimate of all income received from the client, other than payments for matters unrelated to lobbying activities.”

[ii]Lobbying Disclosure Act records indicate that Hennepin County’s lobbying expenditures have never exceeded $40,000 in any year covered by this report. However, officials with the Hennepin County Public Affairs Department have informed FFM that the county has had a $90,000 annual federal lobbying contract with an outside firm throughout the years covered, and advised FFM to use this annual figure as a more accurate reflection of the county’s federal lobbying expenses.
Tips, comments, or suggestions? Contact Tom Steward, FFM Investigative Director (952-451-3684).

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/federal-lobbying-by-minnesotas-local-governments-flies-under-the-radarHigh Costs, Declining Benefits Leave More Minnesota Bookmobiles in Rear View Mirrorhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/high-costs-declining-benefits-leave-more-minnesota-bookmobiles-in-rear-view-mirrorThu, 05 Aug 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminBookmobiles date back to the days of the Model T, a nostalgic memory like the neighborhood ice cream wagon for many Minnesotans. In an era of the Kindle, branch libraries, and tight budgets, however, the end of the road has come in many communities for an iconic service that some view as a costly throwback in time and technology.]]>Bookmobiles date back to the days of the Model T, a nostalgic memory like the neighborhood ice cream wagon for many Minnesotans. In an era of the Kindle, branch libraries, and tight budgets, however, the end of the road has come in many communities for an iconic service that some view as a costly throwback in time and technology.Google map shows St. Paul bookmobile makes regular stops close to city libraries

ST. PAUL, MN--Bookmobiles date back to the days of the Model T, a nostalgic memory like the neighborhood ice cream wagon for many Minnesotans. In an era of the Kindle, branch libraries, and tight budgets, however, the end of the road has come in many communities for an iconic service that some view as a costly throwback in time and technology.

“I remember the bookmobile from when I was a kid and I wasn’t aware it was still around,” Teresa Boardman recently blogged on the Twin Cities Daily Planet. “There has been a bookmobile in St. Paul since 1916, but the one they use now is the 2005 model so it is no longer pulled by horses, which is kind of a shame but we have to keep up with the times.”

The number of bookmobiles statewide has declined from a peak of 35 in 1975 to 12 today, according to the Minnesota Department of Education, but St. Paul taxpayers still spend $292,000 a year to keep the bookmobile on the go assisting residents that face barriers in using the city’s 13 libraries. "It's one of the cheapest ways to serve," said Alice Neve of the St. Paul Public Library. “It’s not at risk for loss.”

With 138,000 visitors in 2009, St. Paul’s state-of-the-art unit features a microwave, refrigerator, air-ride seats, skylights, under-the-desk heaters, a computerized leveling system and a pilot internet access program. A review of the schedule, however, indicates officials might consider adding GPS to the bookmobile’s accessories.

FFM plotted the St. Paul bookmobile’s 39 regularly scheduled stops for summer, 2010 against the city’s 13 libraries on a Google map. Although city guidelines state that bookmobile stops are generally to be at least a mile away from a regular library, the results show nearly one-third of the bookmobile’s stops (11 of 39) are less than one mile from a city library. One of the closest stops comes at an independent living community just two-tenths of a mile from the West Seventh Branch Library. (See attached Google Earth photo.) Taken as a whole, the majority of the bookmobile’s regularly scheduled stops (35 of 39) are within two miles or less of a city library.

Library officials appeared unaware that the vehicle designed to bring the library to city residents makes so many stops so close to city libraries. “The bookmobile does not go to stops within one mile of a fixed library building,” Neve told FFM.

Several of Minnesota’s remaining bookmobiles are operated by county consortiums, serving rural residents without local library services. The state’s busiest bookmobile by circulation in Rochester loaned out some 148,000 items in 2009, also serving three rural cities. Even with a $300,000 annual budget that includes a $50,000 (with benefits) driver, library officials insist the Rochester bookmobile saves taxpayer funds by eliminating the need for branch libraries.

“It is more cost effective for us to provide a flexible bookmobile service,” said Kim Edson, head of reader services for the Rochester Library.” It’s not the cost of the branch building so much, as the cost of the staff to keep it going.”

After 19 years of operation, Hennepin County recently pulled its last mobile library off the road. Not just for the $150,000 in annual budget savings. Library officials concluded the Children’s Readmobile was no longer an effective vehicle for fulfilling its mission of reaching underserved populations and increasing literacy skills.

“This decision was not an easy one, but was made in response to the challenging economic environment we are all facing,” according to the Hennepin County Library website.

Yet by maximizing online tools and other options, the county library staff expects to both save money and be more successful in connecting with younger readers. “Resources like these will continue to accomplish the Readmobile’s early literacy goals and will reach more children in a more cost-effective way,” the library’s website states.

The rest of Hennepin County’s Bookmobile fleet was sidelined several years earlier, due to high maintenance costs and duplication of services with 41 libraries countywide.

“It's never easy or fun to cancel programs that are intended to serve kids and families, but Hennepin County made the right choice ending the Bookmobile program,” said Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson. “The costs were high and the benefits were minimal, as most Bookmobile users had easy access to a nearby Hennepin County Library.”

Hennepin County’s retired bookmobiles remain parked in a garage. As a goodwill gesture, St. Paul sent its previously owned bookmobile to its sister city in Manzanillo, Mexico. The vehicle is not being used, according to Alice Neve, because the Manzanillo city government can’t fund it.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/high-costs-declining-benefits-leave-more-minnesota-bookmobiles-in-rear-view-mirrorMinnesota Communities go on Spending Spree Funded by Stimulus Bondshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesota-communities-go-on-spending-spree-funded-by-stimulus-bondsTue, 27 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminDozens of Minnesota cities and counties have taken advantage of a little known stimulus bond program, borrowing $684 million for projects that include municipal swimming pools, a multi-million dollar golf course renovation and a new mega-community center, a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis shows.]]>Dozens of Minnesota cities and counties have taken advantage of a little known stimulus bond program, borrowing $684 million for projects that include municipal swimming pools, a multi-million dollar golf course renovation and a new mega-community center, a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis shows.Multi-million dollar swimming pools and golf course among non-essential projects funded with federal subsidy

ST. PAUL, MN—Vice President Joe Biden met with state and local government officials from across the country last year to provide guidance on spending federal stimulus funds. Biden implored local leaders to focus on only essential infrastructure needs that will put people back to work and to avoid frivolous projects: “No swimming pools! No tennis courts! No golf courses! No Frisbee parks!”

Since then, dozens of Minnesota cities and counties have taken advantage of a little known stimulus bond program, borrowing $684 million for projects that include municipal swimming pools, a multi-million dollar golf course renovation and a new mega-community center, a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis shows.

While most of the 65 bonding projects across Minnesota appear to be public improvement projects for roads and basic infrastructure, concerns have been expressed that Build America Bonds could encourage borrowing for unessential government projects, as well.

The City of Plainview approved borrowing $1.5 million through Build America Bonds for renovations to its municipal swimming pool. The City of Coon Rapids leveraged Build America Bonds for a $4.23 million facelift to the city-owned Bunker Hills golf course. Despite a budget crunch, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman pitched using Build America Bonds to help fund $24 million in projects. The construction work includes installing a new $7.2 million swimming pool with a “lazy river” at Como Park, renovations to the Highland Park swimming pool, and building a 36,000 square foot community center.

Questions have also been raised about financial strings attached to the program that have reduced federal payments to an undetermined number of communities in other states. The U.S. Treasury recently announced it will reduce Build America Bond subsidies by any amount issuers owe the government.

Some financial analysts warn that unanticipated subsidy reductions could have serious repercussions for local governments with tight budgets. The federal government garnished $617,000 from the City of Austin, Texas over back payroll taxes. The State of Florida has stopped issuing the bonds because of concerns over the so-called offsets. The precise number of affected local government units remains unclear at this point.

State financial officials are aware of the concerns being raised in other parts of the country about Build America Bonds rebates being withheld, but do not believe any Minnesota communities have been affected to date.

“I think people should be aware the federal government is actively offsetting some borrowing,” said Kathy Cardell, Assistant Commissioner for Minnesota Management and Budget. “I’m not aware of any offsets in Minnesota, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any.”

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/minnesota-communities-go-on-spending-spree-funded-by-stimulus-bondsPublic Employee Unions Shun Diversityhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/public-employee-unions-shun-diversitySun, 25 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminA Freedom Foundation of Minnesota review of recently filed campaign finance reports finds that public employee unions in Minnesota have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 2010 election cycle to support a diverse group of candidates: suburban Democrats, rural Democrats, Twin Cities Democrats, and Iron Range Democrats.]]>A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota review of recently filed campaign finance reports finds that public employee unions in Minnesota have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 2010 election cycle to support a diverse group of candidates: suburban Democrats, rural Democrats, Twin Cities Democrats, and Iron Range Democrats.A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota review of recently filed campaign finance reports finds that public employee unions in Minnesota have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 2010 election cycle to support a diverse group of candidates: suburban Democrats, rural Democrats, Twin Cities Democrats, and Iron Range Democrats.

Since the beginning of 2009, the state’s largest public employee unions – Education Minnesota, AFSCME Minnesota Council 5, and MAPE – have spent a combined $740,000 on contributions to legislative and gubernatorial candidates, political parties and other committees, and independent expenditures.

In the past 18 months, Education Minnesota, the teachers’ union that represents 70,000 educators across the state, has shelled out approximately $384,000 in direct political spending. More than 99% of that money went to support the Democratic candidates, the DFL party, and liberal campaign committees. Less than one percent, just $3,200, was given to Republican candidates and committees.

During that same time period, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), which represents over 12,000 state employees, has made $144,450 in itemized contributions to candidates and political parties. Well over 99%, or $144,200, was given to Democratic candidates and DFL party units. Just one contribution, totaling $250, was made to a Republican candidate.

And finally, AFSCME Council 5, the Minnesota branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has given approximately $214,000 to candidates, party committees, and other political committees so far this election cycle. About $20,000 was contributed to candidates for non-partisan local offices. Of the remaining money, 100% of it went to DFL party committees, DFL candidates, or liberal political groups like Progressive Majority and Working America.

It’s important to note that public employees are forced to pay dues to these unions. Even those who opt out of the union are forced to pay so-called “fair share” fees to the union. And it’s hard to believe that rank-and-file union members are as loyal to a single political party as their leadership is, given that exit polls in presidential races consistently find union support for Democrats to be between 50 and 60%.

Public employee unions are free, of course, to support any candidates and political causes they wish. However, perhaps it’s time to call these unions what they are: partisans with a narrow agenda.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/public-employee-unions-shun-diversityThe Taxpayers’ Missing Link?http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/the-taxpayers-missing-linkThu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminNorthstar Commuter Rail has been running from Big Lake to Downtown Minneapolis since November 2009. While ridership has been on par with projections by Metro Transit, taxpayers are still subsidizing $80 for every $15 round-trip ticket, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis. Yet Northstar officials and policymakers continue to push an extension of the line to St. Cloud, which would have a major impact on taxpayers.]]>Northstar Commuter Rail has been running from Big Lake to Downtown Minneapolis since November 2009. While ridership has been on par with projections by Metro Transit, taxpayers are still subsidizing $80 for every $15 round-trip ticket, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis. Yet Northstar officials and policymakers continue to push an extension of the line to St. Cloud, which would have a major impact on taxpayers.Northstar Commuter Rail has been running from Big Lake to Downtown Minneapolis since November 2009. While ridership has been on par with projections by Metro Transit, taxpayers are still subsidizing $80 for every $15 round-trip ticket, according to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis. Yet Northstar officials and policymakers continue to push an extension of the line to St. Cloud, which would have a major impact on taxpayers.

The latest in FFM’s series of Government Accountability videos looks into both the proposed Phase II extension as well as the current system in place and shows why proponents of the extension may want to hold off on an extension for now.

• Capital costs of extending the Phase II portion of the line are estimated at $150 million, according to Northstar officials and a 2007 feasibility study.

• Operating costs of the Northstar extension range between $1.4 million to $3.8 million, according to the same feasibility study.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/the-taxpayers-missing-linkCOSTLY “CHANGE” IN SIGNAGE AT ST. PAUL SCHOOL RENAMED FOR OBAMAS CREATES CONTROVERSYhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/costly-change-in-signage-at-st-paul-school-renamed-for-obamas-creates-controversyMon, 28 Jun 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminThere’s change on the way for those living near the newly renamed Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Elementary School in St. Paul, but not the kind of change many residents here appear to believe in.

]]>There’s change on the way for those living near the newly renamed Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Elementary School in St. Paul, but not the kind of change many residents here appear to believe in.
Neighbors organize against Obama school’s spendy sign amid cuts and crumbling infrastructure

ST. PAUL, MN—There’s change on the way for those living near the newly renamed Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Elementary School in St. Paul, but not the kind of change many residents here appear to believe in.

“I’m a Paul Wellstone liberal and I think this is totally ridiculous,” Lisa Morgan said. “There are so many better ways to spend that money in that school like repairing the school steps or fixing the fence. There are a million things they could do for that school and that’s not it.”

While the St. Paul school board raised eyebrows upon becoming one of the first districts in the country to rename a school for the new president last year, opponents say politics has nothing to do with the current controversy.

It has everything to do with the imposing size, cost and aesthetic impact of a flashy electronic sign St. Paul school officials plan to install out front of the Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Elementary School.

“This sign would be right in our faces 24/7,” said Phil LaRose, who lives in a building on the National Register of Historic Places. “It would be lit most of the time we’d be up and around.”

At a time when the St. Paul school district faces a budget shortfall of $27 million and hundreds of probable teacher and staff cuts, critics say spending nearly $28,000 on a supersized electronic sign and bulletin board sends the wrong message.

The Obama elementary school already features the president and first lady’s names on a large new burnished steel sign over the school entrance. School district officials, however, say an electronic sign would communicate important activities and establish a presence—a big presence.

“One of the other things I would point out is that we did a facilities study and one of the deficiencies identified was signage,” said Howie Padilla, communications director for St. Paul schools. “That goes to the idea of why the signs and why the timing now.”

School officials first proposed a code-busting sign more than seven and a half feet high with 36 ½ square feet of space and an illuminated message board.
“A 7 foot sign with scrolling LED display? When the stairs are crumbling? Seriously?,” Lisa Morgan wrote in her blog. “I won’t vote for another property tax increase. I’ll even fight against the next one if the sign initiative goes through.

There’s also been confusion over the sign’s cost with estimates ranging from $10,000 to $30,000, according to accounts in the Villager, a community paper covering the issue. School officials now set the cost of the Obama sign at $27,965. The St. Paul school board has tapped capital improvement budget funds to pay for the Obama school sign and six others at a total cost of $182,000.

“Whenever you hear budget shortfall all the time, maybe people think money is coming out of the same pocket,” Padilla said. “I certainly appreciate where it can be confusing…but indeed it is a different pot of money.”

Residents submitted three petitions opposing the electronic sign, which they also contend would be out of place aesthetically in their Victorian neighborhood. Phil LaRose collected 53 signatures on his petition alone, but says he’s no community organizer.

“I’m a concerned citizen, a taxpayer! Please don’t call me a community organizer,” LaRose said. “I would say most of the residents of our condo building are liberal and 95 percent of them are opposed to the signs. It’s not political ideology. It’s just that it’s insane.”

Over the objections of many residents, the city zoning appeals board granted a zoning variance for a sign almost six feet high and 32 square feet of total space. The lights would be shut off between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Padilla said a final decision on installing the Obama school sign is pending.

Enrollment at Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Elementary School has declined from 865 students in 2005-06 to 572 students for the 2009-10 school year.

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]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/costly-change-in-signage-at-st-paul-school-renamed-for-obamas-creates-controversyCompanies’ Unemployment Taxes to Spike As State Goes in the Red to Pay Record Unemploymenhttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/companies-unemployment-taxes-to-spike-as-state-goes-in-the-red-to-pay-record-unemployment-claimsThu, 17 Jun 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminEven as Minnesota companies strive to recover from the deepest recession in decades, the total unemployment tax collections paid in by employers is climbing and set to double by 2014, the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has learned. This increase will allow Minnesota state government to pay for hundreds of millions of dollars the state has borrowed from the federal government for extended unemployment benefits.]]>Even as Minnesota companies strive to recover from the deepest recession in decades, the total unemployment tax collections paid in by employers is climbing and set to double by 2014, the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has learned. This increase will allow Minnesota state government to pay for hundreds of millions of dollars the state has borrowed from the federal government for extended unemployment benefits.“Big surprise coming for small employers in particular”

ST. PAUL, MN—Even as Minnesota companies strive to recover from the deepest recession in decades, the total unemployment tax collections paid in by employers is climbing and set to double by 2014, the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has learned. This increase will allow Minnesota state government to pay for hundreds of millions of dollars the state has borrowed from the federal government for extended unemployment benefits.

After posting a reserve of more than $700 million in 2008, the state unemployment trust fund, which is financed by taxes on employers, went into a freefall. Forced to borrow from the federal government to pay record unemployment benefits, the state unemployment trust fund is currently $539 million in the red and projected to be $1 billion in the hole by the end of 2011.

The state has already received notification that federal unemployment taxes on Minnesota for-profit employers will be increased for several years beginning in 2012 to pay back the unemployment trust fund.

The increased federal unemployment tax, combined with increased state unemployment taxes on companies that laid off workers during the recession, will result in an overall doubling of the unemployment tax collections from Minnesota employers at a critical time in the economic recovery, according to Nelson.

“I’d say unemployment taxes in 2014 are going to be twice what they were in 2009,” Nelson said. “The $836 million in unemployment tax revenue paid in by employers in 2009 is expected to reach $1.7 billion in 2014.” Currently, employers pay a federal unemployment tax of $56 per worker per year. The federal tax will increase by $21 to a fee of $77 per worker in 2012 and increase an additional $21 per worker in following years, until the state unemployment trust fund gets back in the black, now expected to be in 2015.

“This fund isn’t going to be healthy until after 2020,” Nelson said. “It’s just mind boggling. You’re looking at something that’s going to be a huge amount of revenue and all you can do is hope there’s not a downturn between now and 2020.”

Minnesota companies that laid off workers will get a double whammy in the form of a significantly higher state unemployment tax bill as well. In Minnesota, employers get the bill for unemployment benefits paid out by the state during a downturn well after the fact. The amount of the state unemployment tax increase is based on the company’s history of layoffs and the total benefits paid out over several years.

“There’s a big surprise coming for small employers in particular,” Nelson noted. “It’s formula driven, you’ve got to pay it over a period of four years. It’s going to be expensive. Employers are going to see increased taxes quite a bit. You’ve got to pay the bill. The money has to come from someplace.”

Minnesota’s unemployment rate, now 7.0 percent, is expected to remain above five percent through at least 2015, according to DEED projections. The $1.7 billion in unemployment benefits paid to Minnesotans in 2009 was almost double the previous record amount paid out. Unemployment payments are projected to remain at $1.2 billion through 2016. The increased cost of doing business due to higher unemployment taxes may be a factor in future budget discussions at the state legislature, according to Nelson.

“It’s something people ought to be aware of. It’s a cost that’s coming to employers,” he said. “Here’s what employers are going to be paying, we know these are increased costs, what else are you going to do?”

Minnesota is among 31 states and the Virgin Islands that have borrowed a total of $38.1 billion from the federal government as of June 15th to pay unemployment benefits. Congress is currently weighing a measure for another extension of the federal unemployment benefit program through November. Also deep in red ink, the federal unemployment trust fund is borrowing funds to loan states from the federal treasury.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/companies-unemployment-taxes-to-spike-as-state-goes-in-the-red-to-pay-record-unemployment-claimsCounties Call 911 for Budget Savingshttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/counties-call-911-for-budget-savingsMon, 17 May 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminWhen there’s an emergency, you call 911, and that’s exactly what 37 Minnesota counties are exploring in what could be a template for how local government can consolidate services and save money, while providing critical services.]]>When there’s an emergency, you call 911, and that’s exactly what 37 Minnesota counties are exploring in what could be a template for how local government can consolidate services and save money, while providing critical services.Number of 911 call centers could be reduced by one third or more

When there’s an emergency, you call 911, and that’s exactly what 37 Minnesota counties are exploring in what could be a template for how local government can consolidate services and save money, while providing critical services.

Currently, Minnesota operates 110 emergency dispatch centers that field more than two million 911 calls per year. Public safety experts say the ideal number of dispatch centers is about 20 statewide. With lives on the line in many 911 calls, no one’s suggesting cutting back on the emergency service or response time. Yet thanks to new technology, sharing services can save up to $10.5 million in local taxes and 911 phone service fees that fund the system, according to state projections.

“We’re really focused on the enhancement of public safety, and if you save money at the end of the day, then that’s an added benefit,” said Scott Wiggins, Director of Emergency Communication Networks for the State of Minnesota. “Quicker response times, better technology to locate callers, those are the real benefits of a technically enhanced 911 call center.”

It’s already proved to be a budget lifesaver in Big Stone County, a rural county in western Minnesota with a declining tax base and mounting budget problems, as well as an aging communications network. Last June 15th, Big Stone County closed down its 911 call center in Ortonville and combined forces with Kandiyohi County authorities in Willmar.

“Our situation was almost a ‘perfect storm’ of events that allowed, in my opinion, a most successful consolidation that has succeeded beyond my expectations, not only in the dispatch arena, but other areas of cooperation as well,” according to Big Stone County Sheriff John Haukos. “I have the same basic infrastructure costs that an agency five times our size has and there had to be a better way of doing business.”

Big Stone County authorities, who realized about $50,000 in savings in 2009, anticipate $100,000 in savings per year in the long run. That savings would amount to more than ten percent of the county’s law enforcement budget.

“The thing people have to get out of their minds is county and jurisdictional lines,” said Big Stone County Sheriff John Haukos. “It’s not the technical hurdles, it’s the hurdles we’ve created for ourselves, those invisible county lines.”

In recent years, metro counties have also significantly downsized their operations. For example, Dakota County merged their six 911 call centers into one, Ramsey County combined four 911 call centers into one, and Washington County consolidated two 911 call centers into one.

Though public safety officials say there’s no guarantee of budget savings, spreading the costs of staff and equipment across multiple jurisdictions provides an opportunity to economize. The average cost per 911 call in Minnesota ranges dramatically from $18 to $138 with employee salaries, benefits, and related expenses accounting for 86 per cent of operating expenses, according to state figures. Economies of scale could theoretically bring down the average cost in many cases to about $20 per call.

In Big Stone County, the savings from consolidation have funded previously unaffordable equipment upgrades, including computers in squad cars, digital records storage and a high tech surveillance camera system that’s already helped expose a major embezzlement case.

“It’s not a mandate, but if local units of government decide it’s in their best interest, we want to be here to assist them in funding and in education to make the transition,” Wiggins said.

The Minnesota State Patrol is in the process of eliminating seven of its ten 911 dispatch centers. Thirty-seven counties, the cities of Hutchinson and Rochester, and the Leech Lake tribal government are actively studying banding together to provide 911 service through five regional centers. Approximately a dozen more local and county governments have quietly expressed interest in the process, but haven’t officially begun discussions yet. If the providers now involved or interested in consolidation follow through, the total number of 911 call centers in Minnesota could be reduced by a third.

]]>http://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/counties-call-911-for-budget-savings“Do as we say, not as we do” LOOPHOLE LETS DOZENS OF MINNESOTA CONGRESSIONAL STAFF OPT OUThttp://freedomfoundation.publishpath.com/do-as-we-say-not-as-we-do-loophole-lets-dozens-of-minnesota-congressional-staff-opt-outThu, 08 Apr 2010 05:00:00 GMTAdminMore than 100 staff members appointed by three Minnesota congressmen who serve as chairman or ranking member on powerful House committees appear to be exempt from a key requirement in the controversial health care reform bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law.]]>More than 100 staff members appointed by three Minnesota congressmen who serve as chairman or ranking member on powerful House committees appear to be exempt from a key requirement in the controversial health care reform bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law.The “height of Washington arrogance” or business as usual?

More than 100 staff members appointed by three Minnesota congressmen who serve as chairman or ranking member on powerful House committees appear to be exempt from a key requirement in the controversial health care reform bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law.

According to a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) review of the state congressional delegation’s committee assignments, it appears that 115 committee staff of Congressmen James Oberstar, Collin Peterson and John Kline might be able to opt out of the requirement to purchase their health coverage through new state-run insurance exchanges.

“Forcing millions of Americans into government-run exchanges while exempting high-level staffers is the height of Washington arrogance,” Congressman John Kline told FFM. “If it’s good enough for Americans on Main Street, it ought to be good enough for Democrats’ favored staff members.”

While members of Congress and their personal office staff must participate in state insurance exchanges under the new health care reform law, language tucked away in Section 1312 of the 2,076 page bill appears to let hundreds of committee and leadership staff in the House and Senate off the hook and keep their current federal coverage.

A Congressional Research Service analysis obtained by FFM and distributed to Members of Congress and staff indicates that appears to be the case. The 13 page document titled “The Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act, and its Potential Impact on Members of Congress and Congressional Staff” says the bill’s vague wording apparently leaves out committee staff and party leaders’ staff, as well as other capitol employees. The bottom line: the committee and political staff in the House and Senate who crafted the health care reform legislation can evidently keep their personal health care plans.

Eighteen-term Congressman Oberstar, one of the most powerful committee chairmen in the House and supporter of the health care reform bill, has more committee staff exempted than Peterson and Kline combined.

Kline, who voted against the health care reform bill, has co-sponsored legislation to repeal the loophole, as well as the overall enabling legislation.“I’ll fight to eliminate this outrageous carve-out and ensure no member or congressional staffer gets a better deal than the American people,” Kline said in a statement.

Neither Oberstar nor Peterson responded to an FFM inquiry on whether they believe the exemption represents a double standard or if they favor repealing the loophole and requiring committee staff to get coverage through state-run exchanges the sameas their constituents.

While Congress is now required to post earmark requests online, the e-word evidently still makes some members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation uncomfortable. On his website, for example, 18-term Congressman James Oberstar refers to “constituent inspired funding” requests, an Orwellian nickname for earmarks.

In fact, three members of Minnesota’s delegation no longer pursue any “constituent-inspired funding” whatsoever—Cong. Michele Bachmann, Cong. Erik Paulsen and Cong. John Kline.

Congressman Tim Walz’s website offers an unusual disclaimer: “These funding requests do not add funds to the federal budget, but set aside funds for a specific project that would otherwise be allocated to—and spent by—federal bureaucrats.”

Regardless of whether it’s federal bureaucrats or Members of Congress who allocate the funds, of course, taxpayers pick up the bill. So what’s the bottom line for taxpayers on earmarks requested by Minnesota’s delegation?

A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis indicates the state’s congressional delegation has compiled 216 earmarks worth hundreds of millions of dollars in potential spending. And that’s before Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken add their earmarks in coming weeks and months. Earmark requests by representatives Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison, and Collin Peterson can be viewed at their respective websites.

While many earmark requests will ultimately be rejected by Congress, dozens will receive your tax dollars. In 2010, the Minnesota delegation boasted 102 earmarks that cost taxpayers more than $68 million, a figure that soars far higher after adding in joint earmarks with members from other states, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.

FFM has compiled a top ten list of the most memorable Fiscal Year 2011 earmark requests compiled by the Minnesota delegation totaling $22 million in funding.

Disclaimer: Exclusion from this list should not be viewed as an implied endorsement of the Minnesota delegation’s 200 plus additional earmark requests